


Collection of Solangelo Drabbles and One-shots

by warmestbloggerever



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Chapters 20 and 28 contain smut and so are rated mature!, Depression, Established Relationship, Ficlet Collection, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, One Shot Collection, Post-The Hidden Oracle (Trials of Apollo)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 02:04:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 41,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16008008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warmestbloggerever/pseuds/warmestbloggerever
Summary: All of these were posted on my tumblr, and now I'm collecting them here for easier finding.





	1. Nico di Angelo and the Very Cute Eye Doctor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico's new doctor makes him forget himself.

It didn’t take him long to be attended, which he appreciated. His old eye clinic was a mess, compared to this one.

The secretaries took him to a small hall and told him to wait in a chair. There was no television or much to do at all, but he didn’t mind. Soon enough, an old man left one of the closed doors in the hall and went to the room Nico had been, along with other people waiting to be attended. That same door opened again and a much younger man, blond, about Nico’s age, came out.

“Nico di Angelo?” He called, and Nico took a moment before standing up. The doctor gave him an easy smile and offered his hand immediately for Nico to shake. His hand was warm and nice. “Hello. This way, please. You can sit here.” The doctor said in a gentle voice, motioning to a black chair in front of a desk. Nico sat in silence while the doctor closed the door.

Nico briefly wondered why he was so nervous.

The doctor was cute, sure. His features were soft, expressed gentleness and interest, and Nico hadn’t expected him to be so nice. On the other hand, the doctor was slightly tanned, with very, very blue eyes that had sparkled during that smile, and Nico wouldn’t use the word “cute” for _that_. Endearing, perhaps. Unexpected. Just a _tiny little bit_ breathtaking.

Hm.

“So, what can I help you with?” The doctor asked, sitting on his chair in front of Nico. He had a small smile.

“Uh, well, I just wanted to check my eyes to see if the myopia has changed.” Nico said, his voice low. He thought he did a pretty good job in hiding his nervousness.

The doctor’s eyes lighted up again when his grin widened for a moment. “A routine exam, then? Perfect!” He seemed genuinely happy that Nico didn’t seem to have a real problem, and he relaxed a bit in his chair, cracking a smile at the doctor.

“How long have you been using glasses?”

“About seven years now.” Nico replied, and a little bit of pride surged in his chest for doing the math quickly.

“When was your last appointment?” The doctor asked politely, and the pride in Nico died.

“Two years ago.” He murmured, and the doctor looked at him with certain concern, frowning a bit.

“Try to make routine exams at least once a year, okay?”

Nico nodded. “It was, like, my top priority when I finished moving here.” And just like that, the joy was back in the other man’s eyes.

“You just moved here?”

“Yeah, about three weeks ago. I got promoted.” Nico cracked another smile at him, and tried not to think why he had added that last bit of information. There was _no_ logic reason in wanting to impress this beautiful stranger in front of him. He doubted it was even a possibility.

“It’s a nice city. I hope you like it.” He smiled at the patient, whose mind had trouble processing the words.

“Thanks.”

Cute Doc motioned for him to sit at that tall chair and remove his glasses. He positioned the machine in front of Nico. For a moment, the doctor positioned his own eyes — those very blue, happy eyes — at level with Nico’s, with only the machine between them, and the patient did his best to conceal his suddenly heavy breathing. If the doctor noticed, he didn’t show it.

They went through the usual “is this better or this?” adjustments, until Cute Doc asked, “Can you read the letters at the top, please?”, and Nico complied.

For some reason, he was nervous. His myopia was a bit advanced, in compared to most myopic people he knew, so he wasn’t used to being without his glasses _at all_ — he couldn’t see clearly not even what was a foot away from him. Besides, he hadn’t been to an eye doctor for two years now, and he didn’t know doctors nowadays could be this attentive and patient. And joyous and cute and—

Wait. Oh, God. What letter was that?

He could see the letter perfectly, but he couldn’t… He couldn’t remember _the name_ of the _goddamn letter_. Shit, shit, _shit_. Was that an H? No. Q? No—

“Sir, I—That’s not a Q, right? I can’t believe, I—I forgot the name of the letter, I’m so sorry…” Nico managed to choke out. He was very aware that his face was warm and probably pink (thank heavens the machine hid it from view), and he grimaced, mentally kicking himself for the embarrassment. _And he still didn’t know what letter was that_.

“A K.” The doctor supplied, and Nico wouldn’t mind if he had died right there, in that stupid chair. The doctor sounded amused, but strangely soothing, and Nico got the impression that that kind of thing wasn’t as rare as he’d thought.

“Yeah. A K, that’s right, thanks. Sorry.” Nico said, his voice thin, and he hoped this part would end soon.

After that, it was his least favorite part — that direct, blinding white light straight into his eyes. His face was once again very, very close to the doctor’s, separated, again, by a smaller machine. It had never been a problem with his old doctor, but now he felt very self-conscious.

“Look here, please.” The doctor motioned to his own right ear, and Nico focused there. Strangely, the light didn’t bother him as much as it used to. Maybe he’d been away from an eye clinic long enough that his mind thought normal things would be awful. Or _maybe_ , it was that he didn’t want to bother the doctor with blinking while he was analysing… whatever he was analysing. He stood very still, and made sure his eyelids didn’t close. He was proud of himself by the time it was done.

“Okay, everything seems fine.” The doctor finally said and turned off the light. Purple spots appeared in Nico’s vision, but he smiled anyway.

They returned to the desk, and the doctor typed something in his computer. Nico put on his glasses, relishing in the feeling of being able to see again, and looked at the doctor. Then he realized it probably was impolite and weird, and averted his gaze, staring at much less interesting papers on the desk.

“I’ll ask you to do a retinal mapping exam, since you have myopia. It’s always good to keep these things in check. Other than that, everything is fine. You don’t need to change your glasses and your eyes are perfect.” The doctor smiled and handed him some papers.

“Thank you.” Nico murmured, trying not to stare at his face. The doctor offered his hand again, and Nico stood up and shook it.

“Have a good afternoon!” The doctor said when Nico was about to leave.

“You too.” He said with a small smile and left, closing the door behind him. The bang was louder than he had anticipated, and he hoped the doctor didn’t think he was ungrateful or rude or anything.

The papers in his hand didn’t have much written on them — not much he _understood_ , at least —, but at the bottom, there was a signature and a black stamp.

_Dr. Will Solace_

_Ophthalmologist_

He repeated the name in his mind, again and again, not knowing why he wanted to have it memorized. It was a nice name, belonging to a nice person with a nice face.

His heart faltered again at that thought, and he was smiling for no reason while leaving the eye clinic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I went to the eye clinic and the doctor was cute and I forgot that the letter K exists. Venting my frustrations via fanfiction.  
> 


	2. First

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico and Will have their first kiss.

He didn’t know who had moved first, and honestly? It didn’t matter. Not right now at least. Not when Will Solace’s lips were moving under his (quickly, as if he had been hungry for this for a very long time), sucking at his bottom lip, giving it a light bite, just to tease, and then his tongue was inside his mouth—

Nico’s heart did a very funny thing in response to that, and he let out a sound of surprise that had Will breaking the kiss to smile at him for a second. Then they were kissing again.

And Nico was okay with that, really. I mean, he _knew_ his face was flushed (he could feel how warm he was), and Will’s skin was hot, too, where Nico’s fingers touched his face, keeping him close. He wished, for a moment, that Will held him too, pulled him closer, and he blushed even further at the thought. Will couldn’t, of course, seeing as his hands were on the ground, supporting him in his sitting position.

Then Nico realized that he was _straddling_ Will. Will’s lap.

He tried to stay there, but everything was too hot. His face burned and his heart was beating so fast and _loudly_ he was sure that wasn’t normal.

 _(At least there was a healer near him, right? Ha! As if the healer_ _wasn’t solelyresponsible for Nico’s condition.)_

He needed air, needed to breathe, clear his head... So he broke the kiss, quite abruptly, and put some space between them. Will’s startled face shouldn’t be as endearing as it was.

“This is—” Nico whispered, and still his voice broke. He cleared his throat and tried again. “This is very overwhelming.”

Under him, Will chuckled.

“Want to stop?” The boy whispered back, and Nico was shaking his head even before he could properly process the words.

“No. No, I — I like this. But can we go slower?” He said, and opened his eyes to meet Will’s amused gaze.

“Of course.” He said, and smiled at Nico before leaning in and gently sucking his bottom lip again. The gesture was so impossibly fond that Nico felt his heart beating faster again. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, his hand tugging at Will’s hair — warm from the sun; he was all warm.

Kissing slower helped, but just barely. He was still a blushing mess, but now he could at least remember to breathe. Will adjusted himself so that he didn’t need to support himself on the ground no longer, and his hands held Nico by the waist, his thumbs going under Nico’s shirt and caressing the skin there. It sent a shiver down Nico’s spine, and he was the one to deepen the kiss this time. Will sighed.

And just like that, Nico was flooded by a ridiculous amount of affection for this boy, and he was _happy_. His growing smile got in the way of kissing properly, but they did it anyway, occasionally breaking apart to beam and giggle at each other like idiots.

Finally, Will leaned back and lied down on the earthy ground beneath him, and Nico did the same after a moment, resting his head on Will’s chest. The healer immediately wrapped Nico in a hug, one hand coming up to caress his hair.

It wasn’t a good idea, seeing as monsters could possibly be nearby (it was how they had got so close in the first place; a stupid monster had attacked them, managing to scratch Nico’s arm before the boy turned him to dust, and Will approached with his first-aid kit, taking care of the injure; then they were kissing). But they couldn’t find it in them to really care. No words were exchanged; they could deal with technicalities later.

Will kissed the top of Nico’s head and Nico kissed Will’s collarbone, and they both just stayed like that, smiling, enjoying that moment of peace and contentment between them.


	3. tell me what you really mean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will finally gathers some courage to ask Nico out.

“You mean to tell me that... the dead like McDonald’s?” Will’s voice sounded incredulous, and no one could blame him, really. The sight of Nico throwing cheeseburgers on the ground in order to summon a spirit they needed to talk to was something he had never expected to see.

“Who doesn’t?” Nico shrugged, clearly not paying much attention to the conversation.

He _supposed_ it made sense, when he thought about it. If he didn’t have to worry about cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension et cetera, and had anyone give him cheeseburgers when he was dead, he wouldn’t waste the opportunity to take them.

“But how does that even work? Do the spirits have taste buds? Do they digest the food? How about—”

“ _Solace_.” Nico exhaled through his nose and turned, facing Will so he could silently tell him to shut the hell up. “I’m not a spirit. I don’t know. I just summon them. Ask _them_ , if you’re so curious.”

Will felt the tips of his ears warming up a bit at Nico’s impatient tone, but he beamed anyway.

“Okay, Death Boy.” Nico shot him a glare, but Will thought the other boy’s face was a bit softer.

He probably would have continued to bother Nico with questions he couldn’t answer, just to annoy his friend, but not tonight. Tonight, he wanted to ask something important. He cleared his throat and forced himself to start the conversation.

“So, when you said everyone likes McDonald’s... Were you included in that group?”

Nico shrugged again, sitting on the ground, preparing himself to summon the spirits.

“They’re not bad. I like their milk shakes.” Nico’s voice was a little brighter in the end of the sentence, and Will’s lips curled upwards.

“’Cause I was thinking that, maybe, we should go and eat something. Sometime. Maybe go to a movie too.”

“Yeah, sure! I like the cinema.” Nico smiled quickly at Will and then closed his eyes.

 _Not like that, Nico_ , Will thought.

“I meant like date.” He forced himself to say it. He’d been putting this off for too long, “getting himself ready” (in reality he was just scared of rejection, but it was about the time to make a move; they couldn’t keep bickering/flirting in camp forever, right?).

Nico was very still for some seconds, then he opened his eyes and looked at Will, his lips parted. The moonlight made him look very good, and made Nico’s unreadable expression clear for Will to see. He forced himself to look neutral and _stop fidgeting with his stupid hands_.

“Sure.” Nico said slowly, and Will’s heart missed a couple of beats when he heard that. Then he smiled.

“It doesn’t have to be McDonald’s. It can be whatever you like.” He said, his voice softer too, but Nico shook his head.

“McDonald’s and the movies.” Nico said with content (but shy) finality, then turned to face the ground and do his task on the mission, and Will watched him, wondering why he had been so scared to ask in the first place.


	4. From a God's Point of View

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico confronts Apollo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one doesn't have much fluff! It's more hurt/comfort than anything, I guess, and quite Apollo-centric.

I hadn’t meant to pry. It’s just that Nico and Will were taking too long — how long could collecting wood for a fire take, really? I was _cold_ (the sun god being cold; absurd, I know).

So I went looking, and found them.

I wish I hadn’t.

“—fourteen years of your life wondering how your dad is. Being told he’s great.” Will was telling his friend; they were sitting with their backs to me, leaning on a tree. His voice broke on the last word. “Only to find he is a self-absorbed idiot who couldn’t care less—”

“Shhh.” Nico interrupted, moving in order to hug his friend, one hand caressing my son’s hair. “It’s going to be fine, you’ll see. You don’t need him anyway.”

And see, that hurt me. What did they mean they didn’t _need_ me? I was one of the most powerful gods, for crying out loud!

So I turned and walked back to my tent. They didn’t notice my presence.

-

The son of Hades woke me up that night. Rather rudely, I must say. He was scowling more than usual.

“You’ll get wrinkles too early if you—”

“Look at me, Apollo. I don’t care!” He spat. His hands were closed in fists and he was shaking. “What is _wrong_ with you? What is your problem? Seriously, why can’t you see how amazing your children are and _appreciate_ it instead of being too captivated by your own stupid reflection?”

I blinked at him, keeping my expression neutral. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of demonstrating any distress.

“I have already heard that, di Angelo.” I said in a cold tone that made his expression change, hesitant.

“You heard.” It wasn’t a question. I nodded once.

“Then you already know you’re a terrible parent.” I snorted.

“How can you _say_ that? I am the god of music, truth, prophecy, healing. I’m the one who makes the sun rise every day. You should appreciate _me_. I’m awesome.”

Di Angelo's left eye twitched.

“That makes you a skilled god. Powerful. I understand that. But, look, as a parent, the abilities that matter are of appreciating your child. Listening to them. I know you gods are different and don’t have time for that, but, making an appearance once in a while would be great. Check if _they_ are okay.” He snorted. “Honestly, it’s the _least_ you could do after all you put us through.”

I didn’t know what he was talking about. Being a hero, serving the _gods_ themselves, had to be the greatest honor imaginable for a demigod. But I was tired (being a human sucked), and didn’t want to argue with such an unreasonable kid.

Di Angelo was frowning. Then he shook his head and sighed again. “Just... think about it. And come to me if you’re interested in how to be a better father.” He murmured and left my tent without a look back.

“Hmpf.” I snorted and lied down again, trying to rest. But it didn’t come easily, even with my exhaustion. I had to do my best to block di Angelo’s words (he couldn’t possibly be right) in order to enter a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written before The Hidden Oracle came out!  
> 


	5. Bad Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico is having a bad day and Will takes care of him.

It was one of those days.

Nico’s chest felt so empty he wanted to scream. Memories of Tartarus and Bianca’s death (he could _feel_ it) shone behind his eyelids and hateful voices whispered in his mind. He couldn’t move, and felt too weak to stand up or to talk.

So at first he didn’t react when someone knocked loudly on his cabin’s door.

“Nico? Are you there?” Will called, and Nico gathered enough strength of spirit to shout a weak, “Go away, Will” back.

The door opened and Will got in.

“If you wanted me to go away, you shouldn’t have said anything... Well, now that I’ve said this, I’ll just barge in your cabin whether you answer or not. C’mon, Jason is loo—” Will stopped talking once he found Nico sitting on the floor, back against the wall, head between knees.

There was a moment of silence.

“Bad day?” Will asked. Nico nodded and recoiled himself even further.

Will didn’t know much about Nico’s past — they had only known each other for a few months. But he knew about days like this — happened to everyone.

So he went over to Nico’s unmade bed and got the blanket, promptly putting it over Nico’s shoulders, like a cape, and then he left. Nico was torn between gratitude for the blanket and (an annoying) sadness that Will didn’t stay, but he didn’t move for another ten minutes. The door was opened again, then closed softly. Will sat beside him and handed him a pack of Oreos. Nico looked at the cookies and at Will’s fierce expression before accepting it. He didn’t want them, but he bit into one nonetheless, wanting to avoid any of Will’s speeches on fasting.

But Will didn’t seem keen to make any speeches. His expression became encouraging when Nico ate the first cookie, then careful.

“I told Jason to stay away. I can call him if you want.” He offered, but Nico shook his head. The last thing he needed right now was Jason’s billion questions. “Do you want to talk?” Will asked, and Nico shook his head again. “Okay, last question. Can I hug you?”

Nico hesitated, then looked up at Will and nodded once. The other boy promptly put his arms around Nico’s shoulders and held him close. The warmth was heavenly, and Nico realized he was trembling a little.

“Thank you.” He whispered, resting his head on Will’s chest. His voice was hoarse from crying.

“Whenever you want.” Will mumbled back, and held him tighter.


	6. A Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snippets of Will and Nico's friendship, Nico's birthday, and Will's gift for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bunch of small Solangelo drabbles that practically wrote themselves, so I’m not quite sure what this is, you know? Everything is a mess. I’m just hoping someone out there will like it.

Chocolate pancakes, Nico decided, were the human version of the gates to Elysium. He was blissfully eating his breakfast in peace, eyes closed, enjoying the soft summer breeze while tasting that masterpiece.

So he didn’t notice when Will sat beside him.

“Hey, Nico.” Will called, tapping the smaller boy’s arm lightly. “What—What is the name of that game you like?” Despite stuttering, his voice was nonchalant, and the son of Apollo himself seemed relaxed, averting his eyes to a random point in the table. His fingers started doing circles over the surface.

“What game?” Nico swallowed and asked, looking at Will’s hand. Nico knew, from experience, how soft they were, used to medical care instead of the harshness from battle. He liked it. He _shouldn’t_ like it.

“That card game you mentioned a while ago. Mytho—Something.” Will turned and looked at him.

“Mytho _magic_.” Nico hated how offended his voice sounded. “But I don’t like it. I _used_ to like it.”

“Hm, really?” Will arched one eyebrow, taken aback. “’Cause I was thinking—I wanted to learn to play it, so we could do something. Together. Besides sword training and tending the wounded.” He looked at the table again, which Nico was thankful for, because he was sure his surprise was evident in his face.

He didn’t think about the words. “I’d love to teach you.” Nico said softly, looking back at his plate. _What are you doing?!_ , he mentally yelled. He couldn’t afford to spend more time than he already did around Will Solace. It wasn’t safe, his feelings got vulnerable in those times—He had to cancel it. Take it back—

“Really?” Will sounded happy, and, again, Nico couldn’t really think.

“Sure.” He sighed and looked at Will, who was doing nothing to hide his grin. He analyzed Nico’s expression for a moment before his smile became an evil smirk.

“Okay, Death Boy.” He beamed when Nico groaned. “We start today, after sword training.”

“What can I do to make you drop that horrible nickname, for the gods’ sake?!” Nico gave him his best glare, which made Will laugh. Sometimes he hated that boy. “What do you want? I’ll give you anything.”

Will’s smile faltered for a fraction of second, and Nico could swear his eyes traveled down for a moment, in the direction of Nico’s lips. The silence didn’t last long, but it got charged, tense. Nico’s heart missed a beat.

But the moment vanished as soon as it had begun. Will was back with his teasing smile.

“There is nothing you can give me. Besides, I wouldn’t accept it anyway. Seeing your death glares every once in a while is too much fun. I can’t risk letting it go.” He stood up and messed Nico’s hair up. The smaller boy scowled and glared at the other boy again, ineffectively.

Will smiled half-heartedly and pointed at a point near Nico’s bottom lip, close enough that he almost touched him. “There is chocolate here, Death Boy.” He said, his voice a tad quieter, and left.

It took Nico longer than it should to process the words, and then to wipe his mouth clean ungracefully with the back of his hand. He started eating again, but not appreciating the meal as before. His thoughts were elsewhere.

Time passed slowly in Camp Half-Blood without so many campers. It was boring as Hades at first, but Nico started borrowing books from the Athena cabin and focusing on redecorating his own, and it got better.

His friends iris-messaged him frequently. It was exhausting, in the beginning — Nico wasn’t used to so much social interaction —, but with time, he began to look forward to the calls, and even made some of his own.

The Will Thing, as he began to call those stupid crushy feelings, didn’t leave. He thought they had. Maybe he could get over it after a year away from the boy. Yeah, space and time would do it, he thought.

(How _naive_ of him.)

It became very clear that his attraction hadn’t lessened in the least when, roughly five months after Will went back home, he came back to Nico’s birthday party.

To make it clear: Nico didn’t _know_ he was going to have a party. On January 28th, someone knocked on his cabin at an ungodly hour in the morning, and when he stepped out, ready to crack the earth open and sent whatever monsters had woken him up to the Underworld, he saw what looked like half the camp there, beaming and holding balloons, cake (blue), a whole bunch of food and presents.

He was pretty sure he was dreaming.

Everyone started singing “happy birthday”, and then they seemed to try to sing the Italian version, but it was so awful that Nico just laughed.

And it was weird, really, ‘cause his eyes started watering. Everyone around him was smiling — and there were so many people; Reyna, Hazel, Leo… even Clarisse had shown up — and here he was, ready to cry. I mean, what was _wrong_ with him?

“Make a wish!” Percy shouted when Nico was about to blow the candles.

“He’s supposed to make a wish when first cutting the cake, man.” Jason corrected, and Percy gave him a disbelieving look.

“What the fuck? Where did you hear that?”

“ _Language_.”

Nico ignored them. He knew what wish he’d make, and it was kind of embarrassing, if not straight-up sad, that he thought of it even when he was so lucky to have all his friends here.

_I wish that Bianca is happy, wherever she is right now._

He blew the candles.

-

There were hugs, hugs, and more hugs from his friends. Pats on the back, hand-shaking and wishes of happy birthday from his acquaintances. Leo made as much “you’re old” jokes as he could get away with. Clovis’s happy birthday wish was interrupted by a yawn. Will’s hug ended too quickly and Nico tried not to mind.

The first slice of the blue cake obviously went to Hazel. The second slice was for himself, and people started serving themselves after that. He sat beside Reyna and Hazel under the shade of a tree and watched as everyone attacked the food. Hazel started telling him stories from Camp Jupiter, and Reyna would add her own comments, which made Nico’s stomach hurt from laughing so hard.

He still wasn’t 100% sure he _wasn’t_ dreaming, but he just played along.

Will was talking to Clovis, who had a huge coffee mug in his hands and a sleepy look in his eyes. The son of Apollo seemed torn between amusement and concern, and Nico found it endearing.

And that’s when he realized five months had done _nothing_ towards The Will Thing. Nothing Nico wanted, at least.

“IT’S PRESENT GIVING TIME!” Piper announced from somewhere, and for a moment everyone stopped talking or eating and rushed to get the boxes they’d left near the Hades cabin.

She had the decency to look sheepish. “Oops… Sorry.”

Hazel and Frank had gotten him a collector’s edition of Mythomagic (”I should call you Nerd Skeleton instead of Death Boy” “shut up, Solace”). Reyna had made a beautiful, elegant portrait of him, and he had to swallow the lump in his throat when he saw it.

“Happy birthday, Death Boy.” Will said in a low voice when it was his turn, and Nico blinked, unable to look away. Will was so _bright_... It wasn’t fair.

His fingers were trembling a little when he took hold of the box.

Inside was a hoodie, as people nowadays called. It was black and the fabric was thick, warm, and Nico gasped when he saw that the Mythomagic logo was embroidered in the front.

“Holy Hades.” He looked at Will, vaguely aware that his mouth was opened. Will only laughed.

“Do you like it?”

“Like it? I love it, Will.” He looked at the hoodie again, resisting the urge to hug it. He wore it instead, over his pajamas.

“It makes you look even more emo than usual.” Will said, his voice pleased.

“Shut up.”

“There is another thing.” He pointed at the box on the floor, and Nico noticed there was a book in there. He got it.

“It’s about Achilles and Patroclus. I thought you might like it.” Will said, averting his gaze, the tips of his ears becoming pink, and Nico was instantly suspicious, but he decided to let it go.

“Thank you, Will. I really appreciate all of this.” He said, his voice soft and honest, and Will smiled slowly.

“You’re always welcome, Death Boy.”

-

Nico had faced Tartarus. Minos. Uncountable monsters. And yet, there was nothing in the world he hated more than that stupid book.

It was currently across his room, where he had thrown it, and he had been staring at it for what felt like forever. Tears were streaming down his face; it was embarrassing, but he couldn’t stop it.

Why _the fuck_ had Will given him that book?

He was shaking, and he hugged himself as a sob escaped his throat.

It took him minutes to calm down, to stop crying. He had never thought anything like that would ever be published, let alone be that beautiful. He hadn’t known Achilles had loved Patroclus like that, so tender and fiercely. ( _Why had Will given him that?_ )

He couldn’t even begin to fathom how much the story had touched him. He couldn’t describe what he was feeling right now. He wanted—

Before he could think better about it, he got the book from the floor. And then he was walking across the camp, toward the Big House, where he knew Chiron would be.

He found the centaur there, discussing something with Mr. D, but the conversation ceased when they saw Nico’s face. It was… difficult, to say the least, to imagine that Chiron had been there, had known Achilles and Patroclus. It was easy to forget how old he was, most of the time.

Nico raised the book as a silent explanation, and Chiron’s expression went from alarmed to somber.

“Oh. _That_.” He sighed. “You wouldn’t believe the quantity of campers that have come to me, demanding explanations.” He sounded tired, and Mr. D gave them a bored look before leaving the Big House.

“So… Were you really there? Were they really, huh, um…”

“Lovers?” Chiron supplied, raising one eyebrow. “Yes, of course. I know what mortals might have said in your time, child, but love has always existed in many forms. It’s foolish to think otherwise.”

A heartbeat. Then another. He understood, then, why Will had given him the book. It wasn’t about Nico, nor it was any sort of secret message. It was just that simple reminder about love. He was glad.

“Thank you, Chiron.” He said, then turned and left.

-

“Hello, Dea—”

“Shut up.” Nico interrupted calmly, then raised the book for Will to see through the Iris message.

“Oh. That.” Will said, similarly to Chiron, but he seemed nervous, tugging a hand through his hair and chuckling humorlessly. “What did you think?”

“I wish you were here so I could strangle you.” Nico said in the same patient tone. “Thanks for giving me it.”

Will raised his eyebrows, taken aback, then he smiled.

“You’re welcome.”

Nico smiled too, after a while. And he felt okay. Happy, even. Times hadn’t changed that much, he thought. The Will Thing was alive and well, and for the first time, Nico thought maybe that wasn’t a bad thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guess what was the book? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  
> 


	7. The Haircut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico gets a haircut. Will approves.

Nico liked the new haircut, he decided, after what felt like an hour of staring at the mirror. He simply wasn’t used to not having bangs falling over his eyes — which seemed _big_ , now that they weren’t hidden behind all that hair. Piper was right; it looked really good.

Feeling a bit more confident, he thanked his friend again and left the Aphrodite cabin, going straight to the infirmary, where he knew Will would be.

There was only one patient in the infirmary, sleeping on one of the medical beds. Will was talking to Lou Ellen and Cecil, and only glanced distractedly at the door when Nico came in.

And then he stopped. His eyes widened and the words died in his throat as he took in the view of Nico’s new haircut. His mouth was opened, but no sound came out.

“Hey?” Nico greeted, waving a bit, and then he fidgeted with his hands, not sure what to make of this reaction. Had Piper lied to him and he actually looked awful?

“N-Nico.” Will said, sounding a little out of breath. He bit his bottom lip, his mouth tugging up a bit at the corners even as he tried to hide his smile, and Nico’s shoulders fell with relief.

“Looking good, bro.” Lou Ellen nodded once, and Cecil whistled in agreement. Nico felt his face getting warmer.

“Thank you.”

There was silence for a brief moment.

“You know what? I have to re-bandage you.” Will said, nodding to himself. His eyes were still fixed on Nico. “Right now. Immediately. Yeah, that injury from last week can be dangerous. Very, very dangerous. Trust me, I’m a doctor.” The healer rambled as he stepped forward and gently pulled Nico by the arm, dragging him to the back door of the infirmary, which led to the woods.

Will didn’t pause his ranting, so Nico couldn’t voice his confusion. There was no injury from last week, so maybe Will wanted to talk to him in private? What was there to talk about haircuts that was so secretive?

Before they left the infirmary, Will stopped and turned to his friends, “Don’t interrupt us. Bandaging is a very serious process and you might… infect him, with your presence.”

“Sure thing, Doc.” Cecil nodded, pretending to take it very seriously, while Lou Ellen laughed and tried to disguise it as a cough. Nico felt his face getting even warmer.

Will rolled his eyes. “I hate you both.” He announced, then left, dragging Nico along.

Meanwhile, the son of Hades was frowning slightly. Will was usually better at giving excuses to their friends — much better than Nico, in fact.

He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong with Will, but he was pinned against a tree, and the next thing he knew was that his entire body was pressed against his boyfriend’s, Will’s warm mouth over his. He let out a yelp of surprise and kissed him back, his arms going around over Will’s shoulders, pulling him closer.

“Gods, you’re so pretty, how even—” Will was saying between kisses — on his mouth, his cheek, earlobe, neck, collarbone, jaw, lips again. “A little forewarning would have been nice.”

Nico’s chuckle was captured by his boyfriend’s mouth.

(Meanwhile, in the infirmary…)

“I bet three drachmas that they’ll announce it in the next month.” Lou Ellen said lazily.

“You’re on.”

“And please find a way to help Will with subtlety.” Lou Ellen laughed. “Di Angelo deserves better than that.”

-

“I’m dating Will Solace!” Nico announced it to his friends two weeks and a half later. His voice shook, his hands were cold, and he had to focus on breathing in deeply to slow down his heartbeat.

Will’s fingers touched his, and Nico focused on the warmth as he tried to calm down. He fixed his gaze on a random point at the wall, and waited.

“HA!” Jason cheered at the same time Percy threw his arms in the air and yelled, “FOR ZEUS’ SAKE!”

Nico looked at them, and his confusion grew when he saw drachmas being passed around to Lou Ellen’s, Jason’s, Piper’s and Annabeth’s hands — all of them with smug expressions on their faces. In the Iris message, Frank was giving drachmas to Hazel and Reyna.

“Did you — Did you already know?” Nico asked, forgetting he was nervous. Leo shrugged.

“You’re not really subtle.”

“I knew from that discussion you had where you yelled ‘ _fine!_ ”, and Will was like ‘ _fine!_ ” and you yelled ‘ _fine!_ ’ again.” Piper said, content. “And your faces were really close and you just stared at each other with ‘ _burning hate_ ’.” She made quotes in the air at those words and threw her head back, laughing. “There was no doubt you’d get together then. It was just a matter of time.” She shrugged.

“Yeah, and Lou told us about the time Nico got a haircut.” Reyna added with a hint of a smirk on her lips. “Poor excuse, Solace.”

Will’s ears reddened. “I-It wasn’t my fault! Did you _see_ how he looked?” He pointed at Nico, and Percy and Jason nodded, very serious. Nico blushed.

“Hey, brother,” Hazel asked, her voice sweeter than usual, and the boy was instantly suspicious. “Can I be the flower girl at your wedding?”

They all laughed, Will included, and Nico hid his face on his boyfriend’s chest.

(A part of him was elated that he was able to do this, to call Will that and be celebrated for it, instead of hated. It felt like a miracle.)

Leo raised his hand.

“Can we announce it to the rest of the camp, though? Everyone has been making bets like crazy.” He asked, and Nico groaned, blushing even further.

 _Since_ when _had his love life become public interest?_ He almost missed the days when he was invisible and feared. _Almost_.

“Sure, go ahead.” Will said after Nico nodded.

Leo got a whistle out his pocket and blew it for some seconds. It was loud and annoying, but it was soon replaced by the cheers of the other campers.

“I can’t believe this.” Nico mumbled, low enough that only his boyfriend heard, and Will chuckled.

“I can. We’re cute.” He hugged Nico tighter, prompting a chorus of _awn_ from their friends.

“Hey, Nico.” Percy called, his voice a bit too serious for the occasion, and Nico frowned. “Does that mean he is your Solace?” And then he cracked up, high-fiving Jason, who was also laughing.

Nico allowed himself to give them a disgusted look, and then he returned his attention to Will — who, to Nico’s horror, was also chuckling at Jackson’s stupid joke.

Cecil started taking pictures, and Nico usually hated doing that. But now, surrounded by his friends and his boyfriend and happiness, smiling was easy as ever.


	8. The Quest for His Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico, Will, Jason and Apollo go on a quest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have a better title suggestion for this, I'm all ears.

The quest was simple enough. It honestly wouldn't take more than a week or two. Jason and Nico could take care of this just fine. Will did _not_ need to go. But did Will listen to Nico? Of course not.

Not that Will had asked for his opinion in the first place.

When Nico had approached his friend for goodbye, Will was silent for several seconds, then left without a word, straight to Chiron. Nico followed him, so he heard the conversation.

"Nico doesn't know how to take good care of himself, Chiron. He sacrifices and gives way too much." Nico would have interrupted the talk right there, but his presence hadn't been noticed yet. Besides, he could trust Chiron to calm Will's worries. “He’s too selfless.”

"He is not an amateur, Will." As Nico predicted, Chiron's voice sounded tired, but firm.

"Yeah, and that worries me. When he came back during the war, last year, he was almost dissolving into shadows, and he would have done it if I wasn't there. And I can help the others too, I mean, Jason didn't realize he had a vision problem until he accidentally bumped into Asclepius. Besides, Apollo is my father. My responsibility."

Chiron was silent for a long time, and that wasn't good _at all_ , Nico thought. He could hear his own heart pounding while he waited for the verdict.

"Fine. You have a point." Chiron conceded with a sigh. "But call Nico. I need to have a word with him."

Nico didn't leave his place around the corner. When Will was leaving, he saw the boy and stopped. He seemed very satisfied with himself, and Nico wanted to punch him. Dangerous, hurtful words were floating around his mind, but he didn't say them. He just walked toward Chiron in silence, and Will didn't stop him or comment on the murderous look the son of Hades surely had.

"Chiron," Nico spat once he and the camp counselor were alone. " _Explain_."

"The boy had a point." Chiron said, composed. "The quest is not overly dangerous, so I'm sure you will all manage."

"If the quest isn't ' _overly dangerous_ ', why does he have to go at all?" Nico said, but he was beginning to feel like a petty child. Chiron stared at him for a long time.

"He may teach you a thing or two about self-preservation." Chiron murmured. "And Apollo is human now. He might need an actual healer at some point."

Nico's anger didn't diminish, but his mind recognized the logic in Chiron's and Will's thinking, even though he stubbornly refused to agree. Will's place wasn't outside, in a world of monsters and crazy gods. It was _here_ , with friends and eternally nice weather and safety. Will wasn't a fighter. He was born to be amidst good things.

"It's only for a week, Nico." Chiron reminded him, but Nico had already turned and was walking away.

-

They had been traveling for two days, and Nico refused to do as little as look at Will. It wasn't as if he was still angry and murderous, but it felt like fair payback for Will's recklessness in putting himself in danger like this.

He was completely aware of how petty, stubborn and just plain _stupid_ he was being, but Will didn't talk to him either, although the healer didn't seem to be angry either — just annoyed.

It was Will who broke the silence first. With a water bottle.

"Drink." He ordered with a blank expression, handing Nico the bottle. Nico stared at it, searching his mind for something to say. Nothing came, so he just crossed his arms and scowled.

Will sighed. "Why do you have to question _everything_ I ask you to do? It's a simple request. You are getting tired more easily, your lips are chapped and dry. That is dehydration, Di Angelo. Now drink the water, please." His voice got an irritated edge in the end, and Nico was aware that this would go into the Nico-can't-take-of-himself file compilation Will seemed to have in his mind.

He made sure to roll his eyes before taking the bottle from the healer's hands, and took a big sip of water.

(He would die and go to the Fields of Punishment before admitting he hadn't noticed how thirsty he was.)

"Why were you paying attention to my lips anyway?" He asked Will, more out of irritation than anything, and took another sip of water.

It was when Will didn't answer that things got weird.

Very slowly, Nico looked up to see Will with his lips parted, as if at a loss for words. He was looking away, his ears slightly pink.

The son of Hades blushed when the possibilities of that question — and lack of a quick, simple answer — entered his mind.

"I—I wasn't... That is not—I'm a doctor, Nico. It's what I do. I look at people's lips and take care of dehydration." His voice died down and he cleared his throat, still looking at a point above Nico's head instead of Nico himself. "Now drink."

After that, Nico obeyed without a word.

-

Nico was pretty sure Will was the first person in history to order an apple and juice in a Happy Meal. Really, he should have won a medal or something.

(Of darned course, he made sure Nico, Jason, and Apollo ate healthy too. In McDonald's. Nico really needed this quest to end. _Soon_.)

"Why do you make me suffer like this?" Nico grumbled, scowling as he bit the apple. It wasn't particularly good, but it wasn't awful either.

"Because I'm your doctor, Di Angelo." Will replied. Nico didn't need to look to know how smug Will was.

"I hate you." Nico murmured. He took another bite from the apple.

"Oh, right. Is that why you follow me everywhere?" Will's voice was teasing, and Nico saw he was smirking. "Protecting me from monsters and such? Because you hate me?"

"B-Because I can't trust you to hold a sword in the right way." Nico said, and his mind went blank when Will's grin widened. "You would probably hit yourself in the head, Solace."

Nico didn't think Will had noticed, but _of course he had_. Since the beginning of the quest, Nico had followed him like a shadow, making sure Will was as safe as possible. It didn't _mean_ anything, but when Will talked and looked like this...

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend, son." Apollo's voice was cheerful from the other side of the table, and Jason choked on his food beside him.

Will's eyes widened and he gave his father a disbelieving look. Nico stared at a random point in his tray.

"I _don't_." Will said, sounding so embarrassed Nico felt sorry for him.

"You're sure?" Apollo sounded confused, and Nico bit his tongue to stop the sarcastic response from coming out. "Oh, I was ready to accept Nico into the family."

"You need to be accepted into the family more than he does." Will murmured, but Nico heard it and laughed. Will spoke again, louder this time. "You made a mistake, dad." The words sounded strange in his voice, probably because he wasn't used to say that word — dad —, especially not associated to a 16-year-old boy.

"Oh. Rare thing. Quite impossible, I'd say. You know, there was a time..." And Apollo ignited the self-absorbed side of him — all of him? —, talking about some random event that probably happened centuries ago. No one was sure; it's not like anyone listened to Apollo when he got into that state. But this time, Nico was glad for the distraction, and he had a feeling Will was glad too.

-

It was a bad night.

During the other days of the quest, he had been tired enough to have dreamless sleep, but today there hasn't been much action. They had gotten the information they needed and would return to Camp Half-Blood tomorrow. He was rested and calm when he went to sleep, so his mind was free to wander in places he didn't want to go.

He had dissolved into shadows and went back to Tartarus again, alone. He hated this particular nightmare, _hated_.

It was dark inside his tent — he hated that he was afraid of it, longing for sun and warmth —, and he could hear Apollo's snores from the tent beside Will's and his. He almost felt sorry for Jason (paper-rock-scissors seemed the fairest way to decide who would endure the torture of spending the night beside a sleeping Apollo).

He didn't think his sobs were loud enough to wake up Will, but it turned out he was wrong.

"Nico?" Will voice was low and drawled with sleep. "You're awake?"

"No?" It sounded like a question, and Nico winced at hearing how broken his own voice was.

"Nico?" Will repeated, sounding a thousand times more alert and concerned. "What happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He touched Nico's arm for a few seconds, making sure he was fine physically. Nico was used enough to touch he didn't flinch, but he missed the warmth when Will got away. He sat up and turned, looking at Will — he could see his features faintly in the dark.

"I'm f-fine." He lied and took a deep breath, trying to stop the tears from falling. "It was a nightmare. Nothing to worry about—"

Will sat up too and reached until he found Nico's shoulders. Then his hands traveled down and held the boy's hands.

(Will didn't expel light. Didn't make the darkness fade. But there, holding his hands, Will made the shadows feel less threatening.)

"If you wanna talk about it..." He didn't need to finish, and Nico didn't need to think about his answer.

"No, it's fine. I'm better now." Nico hadn't told Will about Tartarus. He thought he might, someday, but he wouldn't do it tonight, because a stupid nightmare was haunting him.

"Whatever it was, it won't happen again."

"You don't know that." Nico murmured after a moment, and Will reluctantly nodded in agreement.

"You're right, but I'll try to keep it from happening, whatever it is."

A swirl of emotion hit Nico, and a fresh wave of tears fell. He couldn't help it.

"It's okay, you're okay. You're safe. Whatever it is, it's not happening." Will murmured, slowly taking Nico into a hug.

They stayed like that for a few minutes while Nico's sobs died down and he got calm, Will caressing the small of his back and whispering that it was okay, it was going to be fine.

"Thank you." Nico said finally, wiping the tears off his face.

"No problem." Will replied, not letting him go yet.

"You know, I never thanked you for... For keeping me from dissolving into shadows in the war." He mumbled, and Will said nothing. Nico wasn't sure the other boy had heard, so he opened his mouth to repeat it.

"It was nothing. I never thanked you for saving me from those romans either." He said, and the skeleton butterflies arose in his stomach. It was a strange feeling; he kind of wanted to laugh for no reason, and he smiled in the dark.

"Anytime."

-

Will wasn't ready to go back to camp.

He missed his friends, and the work in the infirmary, and in that sense he would go back in a heartbeat. He couldn't wait to tell Lou Ellen and Cecil about all the crap he'd been through. And to put some space between his father and him.

On the other hand, being out here with _Nico_ gave him a new perspective about the boy. Back in camp, Nico was reserved, quiet, lover of sarcasm and of death glares. But here, without so many people around and no one who possibly feared him, Nico became something else. His murderous scowl became alert and protective, his snappy responses just showed he thought fast and would make a good leader, and he, along with Jason, destroyed all the monsters in their way. And there was the affectionate, touchy, frightened Nico Will just wanted to hold and protect for eternity from last night. Most of all, Will realized he was in trouble. Deep, deep trouble.

To his surprise, Jason noticed it too.

"When are you going to tell him?" Jason approached him and asked. Nico and Apollo were nowhere in sight, organizing their things so they could go back to camp. Will felt almost sorry for Nico.

"Tell who, what?" Will said, not paying attention to Jason. He was kneeling down, staring down at his first-aid kit, making sure everything was in its place.

"When are you going to tell Nico you're falling in love with him?" The question sounded natural, as if Jason was commenting on the weather, but Will's head snapped up so fast he was surprised at his own speed.

"What? In love, me? W-Why would you say that?" Will said, his voice loud and alarmed. Jason raised his eyebrows, looking sympathetic.

"Look, dude, Apollo is the most self-absorbed person I've ever met, and he noticed." He explained. "So, are you gonna tell him?"

Will stood in silence for a moment, thinking of what to say, of the possibilities. "Wouldn't Nico have noticed it too?" His voice was weak now, low. Jason shook his head.

"That you're head over heels over him? Nope. He is oblivious and has the tendency to mistake affection for pity. I'm sure you know."

Will did.

"It's not that simple." He started. "He is from the forties, Jason. People back then didn't think us LGBT were people, remember? I'm sure they thought we should all die, so, what if he thinks the same, thinks it's weird? And stops being my friend?" He shook his head, trying to take the possibility out of his mind. "I can't risk it."

Jason raised his eyebrows again, as if he had completely forgotten that little detail. He probably had. Jason opened his mouth into a silent "o".

"Huh... Well, ask him." Jason said. "You will be surprised." He said with finality, then turned and left, heading over where Nico was. And Will stared, then rolled his eyes. Hadn't Jason heard? _He couldn't risk it_.

(But then again, something in Jason's tone made Will think he _might_ be surprised. Gods knew how close to Nico Jason was, so maybe, maybe Will should give it a try. But just maybe.)

-

He gave it a try.

"So, Nico... Uh, the day is lovely today, right?" He started, staring at the path ahead. He felt Nico's stare — or rather, glare.

"Spill it out, Solace." His voice was the right mix of an order and a mildly uninterested request, and Will gulped. He had made a speech and trained it in his mind a hundred times, so he began it mechanically.

"So the world has changed a lot since the forties, you know. Society is more diverse and accepting, and more groups of people have rights. Equal rights, I mean." He shut his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "Would you know what, um, bisexual means?"

Nico took a while to reply, and when he did, his voice was cautious. "No."

"It means... It's someone who feels attracted to two genders or more." He paused. "You know that there are more than two genders, right?" Gods, this was a disaster already.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, why?"

"'Cause, like, I happen to be bi. Sexual, I mean, _geez_. I like boys and girls, Nico." He said, staring straight ahead again. Nico stopped dead in his tracks, and so did Will after a second. He took a deep breath and looked at the other boy, waiting.

Nico opened his mouth many times, didn't say anything, then closed it again. It took him a minute to say something. Jason and Apollo, walking ahead of them, were already out of sight.

"Why are you telling me this?" The words alone could sound cruel and uninterested, but Nico's tone was cautious and slightly frightened. His eyes were wider than normal, and he couldn't look at Will in the eyes — he was nervous.

"I wanted you to know." Will said slowly. He didn't think, " _I would like to date you_ " was an appropriate response. Yet.

"Oh. I see." Nico paused again, and gulped. "I'm, um, I am..." He squinted, and Will was surprised to see Nico at a loss for words. It was another new thing about him. "I like boys. Too." Nico finally said, and Will's mind didn't process it immediately.

"What?"

Nico snorted, rolling his eyes, but he still seemed nervous, not mean. "Are you really going to make me repeat myself, Solace?"

"No. No, I mean... Nice." Will said without thinking, then mentally kicked himself and started again. "What I mean is, I appreciate that you told me this."

There was a moment of silence. Nico looked at him for a second then averted his eyes again.

"You're okay with this?" Will asked softly, trying to be gentle. He knew Nico hated this most of the times, when people went soft on him, but Will really didn't know how else to be right now. "With me and you?" He cleared up.

Nico gulped before answering. "Yeah, yeah. Fine. Okay. I just..." He looked up and studied Will's expression, then added, "I'm just surprised, I guess."

Will nodded, satisfied. "It's... awesome that you seem to be okay with yourself."

Nico's eyes widened. "I _wasn't_. But I... am now. I'm fine. The idea is almost nice to me." He tilted his head and stared at Will. Then a small smile appeared on his lips, and Will felt something warm in his chest.

"Good. Great, actually!" He nodded, not sure what to make of Nico's growing smile.

"We should probably go."

"Go, yeah. We should..." Will realized then that he wasn't making sense, and decided to shut up.

The boys walked in heavy silence after that, but it wasn't necessarily uncomfortable.

-

The only moment when Will could be alone with Jason was in the pause for lunch and bathroom. Jason was about to go in the McDonald’s’ restroom, but Will grabbed his arm a little desperately, pulling him into a corner of the restaurant.

"Did you know?"

"What?"

"When you told me to tell him... You said his reaction would surprise me. Well, it did. You _know_ , right?"

"Oh, that. Yeah, I know." Jason chuckled, looking tired. Will felt a little guilty for letting Apollo spend so much time with Jason. He promised himself he would spend the trip with his father from now on. He owned that to Jason. "So are you dating already?"

"W-What? No, that's not—I need _help_ , Jason."

He nodded. "Okay. What is the problem?"

"How did people flirt in the forties?" Will blurted, aware of how warm his ears were.

Jason squinted and looked up at the McDonald's ceiling, as if it had the answers for all the problems in his life were there.

"Man, I don't know. Captain America wanted to take Peggy to a dance or something, so maybe that's the way to g—"

"I can help." Apollo said, making the two boys jump due to his sudden presence. This god-turned-human was beaming, his shoulders back and chin up in that confident posture of always. "As you know, I'm an old expert of love matters..."

"For the love of the gods." Jason murmured, hiding his face in his hands.

"Therefore, I _was_ there in the forties. Made many women weep at my absence and men discover a new side of them." Apollo chuckled. "The flirting was quite simple, much more romantic than nowadays, if you want to know my opinion." They didn't. "And it will be great! Your Nico has just got back from war, as the men from 1940s, so it will be quite romantic--"

"War is not romantic in any way, dad." Apollo ignored him.

"Here is what you will do."

-

Will's hair was combed back, he had flowers in his hand, and he felt like an idiot.

If only he had a suit, the whole thing would make more sense, but it was impossible to feel elegant in a loose orange T-shirt from camp. Honestly. Why had he heard his father again?

(Because he wanted to woo his friend from the forties. Right.)

This was ridiculous. He was the son of poetry and he couldn't remember a single Shakespearian sonnet. Shameful.

(Did Nico even _like_ poetry? Shit.)

And then Nico entered the tent, yawning. He froze at the sight of the flowers in Will's hand, eyes widened, mouth still opened. If Will wasn't nervous, he would have laughed.

"Um, hi! So, before you go to bed, I just wanted to say something." Will said, mentally hitting himself repeatedly.

"You combed your hair." Nico pointed, raising his eyebrows slightly. "It's interesting. I like it." The train of thought in Will's mind died and he forgot everything he wanted to say.

"T-Thanks."

"Are those for me?" Nico asked, pointing at the flowers. A small part of Will noticed that Nico didn't seem to be hesitant or taken aback in the least, and he was glad.

"Yeah, sure. Here." He handed the flowers to Nico, and a small burst of happiness, pride, and confidence arose in his chest when the other boy gave him a shy smile. _Go on_ , Will told himself. "So, I like you. In a non-platonic way. I mean, not that I don't like you platonically, 'cause you're a great friend. You're smart, and brave, and kind. Stupidly selfless sometimes, but I love all of that." He suddenly stopped, blushing. He hadn't mean to say the word _love_ , but Nico kept on grinning.

"Will. You rambled." He said in wonder. He was still smiling. "I know you like me. I just didn't know how much."

Will took a moment to process this new bit of information. "You knew?" Nico nodded.

"I asked Apollo if staring at people's lips was a 21th century medical thing, and he laughed at my face. Yeah, I knew." He beamed. "I like you too. A lot." He giggled, and the sound made butterflies fly in Will's stomach. "I think we can work something out, if you want."

"I do, I really do." Will beamed, so many good feelings in his chest he couldn't tell one from another.

"Good."

"Is Nico my in-law already?" Apollo yelled from the other tent, and Nico laughed while Will blushed in embarrassment and shouted profanities back at his father. They would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone _please_ suggest a better title for this one. My crops are dying.  
> 


	9. Love Will Conquer All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Skip religion and the politics. And head straight to the compassion. Everything else is a distraction.” Talib Kweli

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read some homophobic crap today and got sad. This is a therapeutic, _highly_ personal Solangelo drabble.

Nothing broke Will’s heart more than seeing someone he loved crying, along with the subsequent knowledge that he virtually couldn’t do anything about it. His boyfriend’s sobs were a like a knife in his heart, and all he could do was hold the son of Hades and whisper comforting things. He doubted Nico was even listening.

“Shh. It’s okay.” He whispered, caressing the raven hair slowly, trying to calm down the other boy.

“No, it’s isn’t.” Nico was able to say, and then he broke into a new wave of sobs and tears that made Will want to cry too.

“It is. They’re wrong. Hey, look at me.” He stopped hugging Nico in favor of cupping his face, wiping the tears away with his thumbs. Nico’s cheeks and nose were flushed red from crying, and his eyes were watery.

At that moment, Will felt a surge of hate directed at those protesters. Why did they get to have a say in who Will should love or not? It made the boy feel powerless, small.

The preacher was still on the podium, calmly explaining the verses of the bible that condemned homosexuality. Perhaps that was the worst — the calm, cold rationality of it. Where was the compassion? Fortunately, Nico had run away enough that they couldn’t make out the words, but they still heard the cheers from the crowd. Will feared for the children of those who were watching the preacher.

“I love you. You know that, right?” Nico nodded, still looking fragile and broken. “Do you think my love is depraved and wrong just because we’re boys? Do you think I would love you any differently if one of us were a girl?”

“No,” Nico whispered, closing his eyes and frowning, as if in pain. “But, Will… Why do they hate us?” It took him a while to get the words out. He opened his eyes and waited for an answer.

“They don’t.” Will said in a low voice, caressing Nico’s cheeks, trying to comfort the boy. “They just don’t understand us.” _Maybe they’re afraid of us too_ , Will thought, but didn’t say it. Chiron had once told him that people are afraid of what they don’t understand.

Nico considered his boyfriend’s answer and took a moment before speaking again. His voice was low, but sounded a bit hopeful, and that made Will’s heart ache. “And how can we make them understand us?”

“I don’t know.” The healer confessed in a whisper, and watched as Nico’s eyes lost their sparkle and looked lost for a moment. He hugged the son of Hades again. Nico hugged him back half-heartedly, distracted.

They stayed like that for some minutes before someone interrupted them.

“Excuse me, but are you guys okay?” Will opened his eyes to see a girl and a boy staring down at them, frowning. Something was annoying the boy, but Will couldn’t see what Nico and him could have done to the stranger.

“We’re fine.” Will said, a bit unsure. “Just… don’t agree to the preacher there.” The strangers raised their eyebrows and nodded in agreement.

Without asking for permission, they sat next to Will and Nico, one in each side of them.

“I’m Julie, that’s James, my little bro.” The girl introduced them. “We’re also very gay and very pissed.”

Will chuckled, while Nico looked at the strangers with newfound interest.

“That’s a way of putting it.”

“Don’t worry, friends. One day they’ll be ashamed of their history.” She said with such conviction that Nico could only stare at her.

“How do you know that?” He asked in a small voice, as if he hadn’t meant to speak at all. The girl shrugged.

“The Church has done awful things in the name of the Lord. He would be ashamed. One day they’ll recognize that.”

“But… They are reading the Bible. So… Didn’t God — I mean, doesn’t God agree?” Nico cowered, and Will started doing caresses on the other boy, trying to make him relax a little.

“I’d say that God just wanted us to love our neighbor and be nice to one another. Don’t judge and all that jazz.” The boy said, playing with some rocks he found on the ground. “Everyone has made mistakes, buddy. Like, Jesus recognized this. The point of God isn’t ‘don’t ever make a mistake’. It’s ‘love one another’.” He shrugged, letting the rocks fall. “That’s what I think, at least.”

There was silence for a bit.

“Do you think they’ll ever realize that?” Nico asked James, sounding hopeful again, and Will’s shoulders fell with relief.

“Maybe.” James smiled a bit to Nico. “Maybe one day the whole world will just stop fighting over everything and love one another.”

“It’s been 2500 years and that hasn’t happened yet.” Julie pointed out, and James shrugged.

“Hope is the last one to die.” Julie rolled her eyes, but she was smiling a little. She tapped Nico’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, buddy. Hate will never win over love, okay?” She gave Nico a reassuring smile, and Will watched as Nico internalized those words with a small smile.

“Okay.”

“Cool. And if you ever need support or shit like that, our community is great for that.”

“Yeah. We have our inner bullshit and stuff, but we’re nice.” James chuckled, and then frowned and stared at Nico with worry. “But, look, not every Christian is like that, okay? Our parents are super okay with us.”

“Yeah. Maybe the mistake is in condemning a whole group for something, right?” Julie added, and Will chuckled.

“Maybe.” Nico’s voice was low, and Will couldn’t tell if it was astonished in a good way or not.

“We gotta go now.” Julie stood up, being followed by James. “But, really, things will get better.”

“Yeah, they always do.” James said, smiling a little. Will and Nico said their goodbyes and the siblings left. Will rejoiced in the fact that his boyfriend rested his head on his shoulder, seeming more relaxed.

“I love you.” He murmured.

“I love you too, darling.” Will replied, holding the other boy’s hand and raising it to his lips. Nico smiled.

“I feel like making out.” The son of Hades announced, and Will knew, then, that he would marry this boy someday and mention this moment in his vows.

“Your wish is my command, sir.” He murmured and kissed Nico gently, unable to care less about all the homosexuality being shoved down the throats of the people around them. Will had the right to exist with as much dignity and rights as everyone else. He had the right to kiss the person he loved and to be represented and to speak out his mind, and nothing could ever change that.


	10. Nico Has a Weird Kink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “'Dress up as a pirate for Halloween.' Percy had said. 'Just… trust me, man. Make it a surprise.' And he had winked and walked away."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was based on someone's headcanon, but I can't find the original post!

“Dress up as a pirate for Halloween.” Percy had said. “Just… trust me, man. Make it a surprise.” And he had winked and walked away.

Will didn’t know what _that_ was about, but he did as he was told. Maybe Nico liked pirates. It wasn’t above him. The son of Hades was the nerdiest emo Will had ever met. It was part of the reason why he loved him.

So he kept it a secret, as Percy suggested. He pretended he would go to the Camp party as a werewolf and suggested Nico dressed up as a vampire.

“Just put on a cape and you’re ready to go.” He told his boyfriend, whose only response was to roll his eyes and glare a bit longer than usual.

And then Nico averted his eyes, suddenly very interested in the hem of his shirt.

“You know, we could… You could go as a—”

“Werewolf! I know, right? We’ll be matching, it’ll be perfect!” Will stepped forward and kissed his boyfriend. Kissing slowly evolved to making out, and the topic was forgotten. And every time Nico tried to bring it up, Will distracted him as best as possible.

“So, about the Halloween party—”

“Right? Lou Ellen and Cecil will go as Jack and Rose from Titatic.”

“…I thought they weren’t dating.”

“Oh, no, they lost a bet. Lou will go as Jack and Cecil will be Rose.”

And, “Will, we need to talk about the costumes—”

“Yes, I was looking for you. I heard Leo will go as the Cupid.”

“WHAT?” Will had five seconds of advantage to warn Leo before Nico almost sent him back to the Underworld.

And “William Solace, about the party… Why are you avoiding this topic?”

“I’m not avoiding it!”

“Then talk to me about it. Because I was thinking—”

“It’s my childhood dream.” Will blurted out, hoping it didn’t sound too ridiculous. Judging from the look Nico gave him, it did.

“What?”

“Going as a werewolf. Having a vampire date… I was a Twilight fan.” He lied, watching the confusion in Nico’s expression at another pop culture reference. But then his boyfriend sighed, shoulders falling in defeat.

“Okay. I’ll be your vampire.” He rolled his eyes. “But next time _I’m_ choosing the costumes.” Will beamed at him.

“You’re the best, dear.”

So at the party, he dressed up as a pirate. Lou Ellen had helped him with the costume, making it more realistic, and Will thought he would look ridiculous, but he actually looked pretty good. He could only hope Nico liked it.

It was immediately clear to Will, by the way Nico’s eyes widened and his jaw fell that yes, his boyfriend liked the costume very, very much.

“Surprise?” Will greeted, beaming, interested in the way Nico seemed immersed in every detail of the clothes.

“Uhum.” His boyfriend nodded, not meeting Will’s eyes yet. “Very. Much.” Will’s smile grew.

“We should go meet our friends now.” Nico growled, but didn’t say anything as Will held his hand and dragged him to the bonfire, where he could see Jason, Piper and Leo.

An hour passed, and Will got more and more amused at the way Nico scowled at everyone for a few seconds before giving his pirate costume an awed look. Gods, he loved his nerd boyfriend.

“William, I need you to be serious with me right now.” Nico finally said, his fingers laced together and a dangerous sparkle in his eyes. “How much do you care about this party?”

Will smiled slowly. “Not much. Why?”

Nico’s reply was a sigh of relief. He grabbed his hand and drag him to the Hades cabin, unpinning and abandoning the black cape he’d been wearing. Soon enough, Will found himself thrown against a wall in the cabin, with Nico’s mouth kissing his jaw.

“How—did you—know?” He said between kisses, holding desperately onto Will, who was trying his best to undo the buttons in his boyfriend’s shirt.

“Percy suggested it.” Nico chuckled.

“Gods bless that boy.” Another kiss, this one open-mouthed. “Remind me to thank him later.”

“It sounds like I’ll be the one doing the thanking.” Nico laughed again.

“You’re _damn_ right, love.”

They both thanked Percy effusively afterwards.


	11. you can see my heart burning in the distance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will is just very in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally untitled (many of these drabbles were tbh). So the new title I decided to give it was taken from Lana Del Rey's new song 'Mariners Apartment Complex', 'cause I'm in love with it.

_I love this_ , he thought as he kissed his boyfriend’s neck and felt him come undone, below him.

He loved how Nico made him feel whenever he saw him silently contemplating a blank canvas, wondering what to paint next, or when he started helping in the infirmary on his own volition. The quiet pride felt warm in his chest in those moments, knowing that Nico was trying his hardest to get better; to be okay on his own but knowing he wasn’t alone.

He loved the unexpected mischief in the son of Hades. He loved Nico’s quick comebacks and his love for sarcasm and for music. He loved the dark eyes that were always sharp, alert, alive; the endless bickering and the quiet conversations in the Hades cabin. He loved their hugs, and how once Will had to ask for them, and how now Nico just embraced him whenever he wanted. Their relationship was so easy it felt like breathing, and it scared him sometimes.

Once again he tried to pinpoint when exactly he had fallen in love with this boy, and failed. For all he knew it could have been when he first heard Nico laugh. He remembered, though, the moment when he realized he was in love — celebrating Cecil’s birthday, and he was hit with the sudden realization that his idea of The One became dark hair and playful, intelligent dark eyes, high cheekbones and pink full lips that were always a bit chapped; his casual daydreaming of lazy Saturday mornings now had Nico beside him instead of a vague figure; the fantasy house in his head became Nico’s and his. He didn’t know when it had happened, but he knew what it meant.

Will loved him, for everything and for no particular reason at all. For the quiet, longing glances, the fierce support he showed whenever Will needed, for that dark side of him and his inability to be smooth — he was always straightforward.

Below him, Nico sighed and turned his head up, joining their lips. His arms went up and rounded his neck, keeping him close, much like their first kiss. It had happened four months after the war, when Nico finally decided to stop stalling and began painting his ceiling white — it used to be dark red, like wine or blood. Will had decided to help, startled by how lonely he felt without the other boy beside him — suddenly the day passed much slower.

“What the actual Hades was I thinking?” Nico would mutter every now and then, cursing his past self. At some point during their painting, Nico announced he needed to rest and just lied down on the newspaper-covered floor, arms spread, paintbrush still in hand. Naturally, Will decided to start a war and flickered some white ink on Nico’s dark hair.

“Ah, look at that. Now you look your real age.” He said as casually as possible as Nico’s startled expression became one of his famous glares. Will had to stifle a laugh.

“Oh, I’ll get you for that.” Nico spread white ink on Will’s gray shirt, and he painted Nico’s cheek in retaliation, and then somehow he was on top of the other boy, tickling him and committing his laughter to memory. And when he stopped Nico looked up at him, signs of laughter still on his toothy grin, and the boy’s gaze softened. By now he knew why the mere sight of the son of Hades made him feel brave and very very stupid all at once.

“You’ve got that look on your face again.” He told Will.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Then Will had one second to register how close they were before their lips met, Nico holding him close.

“Will…” Nico muttered now, between kisses, and Will opened his eyes to see a familiar expression on Nico’s face. Will felt it whenever he looked at his boyfriend.

“I know.” He whispered, and kissed him again. They didn’t need words.


	12. poetry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "He saw his history with Nico as a string of moments."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read poetry all day and this kind of happened.

_You look like hell_. That's what he wanted to say when he saw Nico again, leaning onto a tree and pondering how best to dive in to his death. And yet the moment Will said his name, there was a sword and sharp eyes, pure instinct.

 _No_ , Will corrected himself. _You have_ been _through hell_.

-

The boy clearly didn't know what to do with people. Give him a weapon, he'll slash and incapacitate and disarm. Put him in the middle of a war, he'll bring clever ideas and do significant damage to the enemy.

Put him in an infirmary and he'll look at you with fear in his eyes.

Will couldn't tell who started to see Nico as a ghost and a weapon first, instead of as a boy: other people, or Nico himself. He didn’t care; it was a behavior that had reached its end. That was a promise.

-

He saw his history with Nico as a string of moments.

There was him, sleeping on a bed in the infirmary, silent and recoiled even if there were two blankets over him, as if trying not to take much space, as if he would break if other people saw him.

There was him, observing Will’s hands and Will’s medical equipment and the infirmary walls and Will knew, he _knew_ , Nico was trying not to flinch away from touch.

There was the silence. _Gods_ , the silence was the worst; and not just that, but the look Nico gave him, as if he was waiting for something — what was he waiting for? Will could drown, could suffocate in those dark eyes, searching for color and for emotion and only seeing a reflection, like staring at black glass. The world was a secondary thought in those moments. They just looked at each other, and Will never knew what to think.

There was their first hug. It was for medical reasons; Will had told him it was good for the health, because it was, and because he wanted the other boy to know he was safe, to feel comforted. So he circled his waist with one hand while the forearm of his other arm went up and he caressed his scalp. Slowly, like a movie, like the heartbeat of someone who’s calm. That day, Will learned that Nico loved long cuddles, and that he hugged back only after he felt safe. It was worth the wait.

Nico smelled like earth in a rainy day, and soap. His hands were cold.

A single knock on the infirmary office door, then several, and Will opened it to a boy who was trembling and looking down. Hiding.

Nico stepped in. Closed the door. Breathed in and out and was shaking the entire time. It wasn’t a cold day.

“Do you remember when you said I could come over, if I ever needed anything?” “Yeah.” “It sounds stupid, but I didn’t want to be alone.”

Will waited. There was more.

“I think I want — I think I need to cry.” He explained, his voice low and uncertain. Breathing heavily, hyperventilating — trying to keep the tears inside, trying to contain something unstoppable. “I don’t know why.”

Will opened his arms. “Come here.” There was pain in his voice.

Nico sobbed in his chest while the sun set. He left after saying “thanks”, still looking down, and it cracked Will’s heart.

The next day, they bickered. They argued about everything. About the shapes of clouds and the archery and the right way to organize medicines in the office. The closer the day came to ending, the more they pretended the crying hadn’t existed, like a bad dream from your childhood — or was it a memory?

The word “friendship” tasted like sour candy. None of them could get enough of it.

There was laughter by the lake, and a stupid contest that left them both dripping in cold water, still laughing. Will couldn’t remember what they had been arguing about, but he remembered his heart felt warm when Nico smiled, and that he couldn’t look away. He knew he had to avoid thinking about that smile.

There was one of their movie nights. Nico had chosen the movie tonight, and Will was putting it on, and they had already argued for a while — about the decoration in the Hades cabin this time.

“You can talk to me too, you know.” Nico said, and that was the thing with Nico — he changed so fast it was a wonder how Will could keep up with him.

He stopped and thought before answering. “No, I don’t know. What do you mean?”

“I mean that — I cry on your shoulder about Tartarus and whatever. You can also cry on my shoulder, if you want. You can tell me things, like what you’re afraid of.” As every time Nico talked about something that wasn’t superfluous, he looked uncomfortable, but there was no doubt in his expression, so Will knew he was telling the truth, and he appreciated it.

“Thank you.”

And there was the moment when he _did_ talk to Nico. He laid down on the bed and let all the hate and the poison and the ugliness out. There were tears and the feeling after tears, as if he’d freed a bird from an old rusted cage. Nico understood, and he listened.

Will thought there might be the word “love” somewhere in their story. It could have been born that night, while his tears fell over Nico’s white pillow, or maybe that moment only existed because the word “love” had already been there. He didn’t know. It didn’t matter.

Time passed by, but Will was counting it by days. He liked every day.

There were flashes too, moments on repeat in his head, like Nico’s smile. Nico, very still, his gaze cold and calculating as he prepared to shoot an arrow. Nico, humming to a Ramones song. Nico’s smile when Will gave him a Ramones shirt — not toothy as he was expecting, which was disappointing, but there was a mirthful glint in the other boy’s eyes that made it worth it. Nico, sitting on a bed on the infirmary, looking out the window; the last rays of sun colored the boy’s face and turned his eyes into a warm brown, made him golden and breathtaking. Will wanted to paint him, to burn this memory in his mind so he’d never forget it. That was also the moment when Will thought about kissing him. Nico, talking to Will’s friends more and more until it became a habit, until it was almost easy, and then it was easy. Nico Nico Nico. Like a melody. Like goddamn _poetry_. Like the blue sky, full of secrets and mysteries he couldn’t even imagine, but could look at and love. Will couldn’t get him out of his head. He didn’t really want to.

Will dreamed about Nico’s laugh, even when he wasn’t sleeping. He dreamed about a two-story house and barefoot steps on the stairs and silent mornings, or mornings when neither of them would want to get up, so they wouldn’t. The sheets of their bed would be white, and the sunlight would paint Nico’s face. Nico would be smiling. The truth was that he was hard and sharp and the world had hurt him a lot, but there was still a softness inside him, and Will loved the entire picture, the entire person. The word “friendship” was beautiful and Will was grateful for it, but now it made him ache.

There was the afternoon when Nico was in the infirmary again, sitting on the bed, his feet not even reaching the floor. He wasn’t saying anything. Will was leaning against the wall, and it was just the two of them. It occurred to him his siblings would find this sight strange, but they didn’t understand that what Will liked was his company, overall.

“You’re unusually quiet today.” He said, because it was true. Nico looked at him, and there was the silence again, heavy and charged between them. Will felt a bit dizzy, a bit out of air, and he didn’t know what to do. What was Nico waiting for? What did he _want_?

Nico parted his lips. Closed them. Blinked. He seemed to be in pain.

Will stepped closer. _Say it again. Say it_. He pleaded in his head, begged, screamed. In front of him, Nico just looked at him, quiet. The pain melted into something that looked like happiness, like understanding, and Will couldn’t resist it. He had to ask him. He had to ask or it would strangle him.

“Can I kiss you?” The words were out, just like that, and later he would try to remember Nico’s face when he heard them. He couldn’t remember. But he would remember the exact perfect moment when his lips touched the other boy’s, and it felt like the sun was rising in his chest.

Sometimes Will imagined it. That he would pull Nico's body toward his and hold him tight and kiss violently and fast and hard because that was the amount of his desire. It suffocated him.

In reality he was gentle. Gods, he couldn't believe how gentle he was. Nico's lips were soft and chapped, and tasted perfect, like a dream, like music. How could he ever think of being _anything_ but gentle with this boy?


	13. Oh, I'll get you for that...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "'So,' Will started, his voice casual and a bit amused. 'I’m a significant annoyance, um?'"

“So,” Will started, his voice casual and a bit amused. He was walking Nico back to his cabin, a habit formed on the early days of their friendship. “I’m a significant annoyance, um?”

Nico rolled his eyes as he walked into his cabin, Will closing the door behind him. He turned, about to say something to his stupid boyfriend, but then Will was very close, with a devilish smirk that made the words disappear from Nico’s mind. Will pressed his hands on the wall, on each side of Nico’s head, effectively trapping the son of Hades there.

“Because you don’t seem annoyed in the least right now.” He continued, grinning freely now. His boyfriend was wide-eyed, his lips parted in surprise.

“Sh-shut up.”

“Um. No.” Will bit his lip as he buried his head on the crook of Nico’s neck, then kissed the point just below his earlobe.

“William.”

“Hm.” Will kept kissing him, starting a trail that would lead to the other boy’s collarbone. Already he could feel Nico relaxing, his shoulders releasing tension, and Nico’s arms circled his waist, keeping him close.

“You’re annoying.” He finally muttered, closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling of Will’s breathy laughter against his skin. He leaned his head against the wall to give his boyfriend free access to his neck.

“Uhum.” Will began making his way up, taking his time to bite Nico’s skin. The other boy sighed.

“I—I mean it.”

“I know you do, Sunshine.” Will murmured before he kissed Nico’s jaw.

“ _Will_.” Nico’s voice was impatient, a little breathless, and Will smiled, looking into Nico’s eyes.

“Yes?”

And then Nico embraced Will’s neck and pulled him down, kissing him with with a voracity that would have startled the healer if that wasn’t exactly what he wanted too. The day had been stressful enough, and here, alone, they could finally forget the world outside.

Eventually Nico got tired of having to reach up in order to kiss his boyfriend, and dragged him to bed. Will made a mental note to thank him later; he had to curve himself down to kiss Nico, and it hurt his neck after a while. He lied down on his back on the bed and waited patiently as Nico took off his jacket, threw it aside, and climbed up above him, his hands and knees pressed over the mattress, straddling Will. Then they kissed again, a bit more slowly, taking their time. Will took the lead, kissing him slow and right enough that Nico began sighing more often. Will caressed the boy’s skin in random patterns, everywhere he could touch — his arms, his hipbones, the small of his back.

“Will.” Nico whispered between kisses. “Will, I—”

There were so many things the son of Hades wanted to say... _Thank you for not giving up on me. I’m sorry I’m difficult sometimes. Thank you for not leaving. Thank you, thank you, thank you_. But the words always got stuck in his throat.

“I know.” Will mumbled below him, but _how could he know_? How could he understand the depth of Nico’s feelings? How could he know Nico would do _anything_ for him?

“I love you.” He said, and his voice sounded almost surprised. They both froze at those words, but Nico broke it by laughing under his breath. “I love you.” He said again, more confident; happier.

When Will spoke, his tone was tender, bordering on awe. His eyes were the same as he stared up at Nico and cupped his cheek. “I love you too, significant annoyance.”

Above him, Nico sighed and rolled his eyes. “Are you ever gonna let this go?”

“Nah, not really.”

“Well, fine, _special guy_. I guess I’ll have to shut you up.” Nico said, then kissed his boyfriend again.


	14. A Collection of Dangerous Thoughts and a Happy Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tickling Nico di Angelo was, in general, a dangerous experience.

Tickling Nico di Angelo was, in general, a dangerous experience.

First, there was the matter of touch, which they had got over weeks ago, but that Will was still wary about. Besides, tickling had to be sudden, surprising, and one could never know how Nico might react — would he laugh or accidentally tear your eye out of its socket? Or maybe summon a zombie to escort you to the Fields of Punishment? No one could tell.

Then there was the matter of the _tickling_ itself, and Nico’s laugh. It was loud and childish, more like a giggle, and so rare it always faded from Will’s memory before he could witness it again. _Nico_ looked younger when he laughed; he clutched his stomach and closed his eyes, which made him look his actual age for once, and not older. It was a beautiful sight. It was a shame he didn’t do it more often.

And that was another thing: Will’s thoughts when he saw Nico happy like this. They always got a bit wild, a bit _too_ fond to be friendly, and he couldn’t afford to think like that. Not about _Nico_. He couldn’t afford to lose _this_. If he knew what was good for him, he’d put some appropriate distance between him and the other boy, and maybe that’d stop that line of thought from existing.

Of course, Will _didn’t_ know what was good for him.

Which was how he found himself on all fours, straddling Nico on the floor of the Hades cabin, one hand supporting himself up, and the other tickling the other boy’s abdomen.

“ _Will!_ ” Nico screamed, tears forming in his eyes from laughing. “Stop, damn it!”

“Language, Death Boy.” Will said, beaming as well, but didn’t stop just yet. Nico laughed harder, which made his cheeks a bit flushed. It made something stir in Will’s chest; something warm and definitely _not_ friendly.

“Will!” Nico yelled again, this time slapping blindly against the other boy’s hand.

“Ouch!” Will complained, aware that he was being over-dramatic, and took his hand away.

Nico went for another slap, but Will caught his hand and interlaced their fingers, setting them on the floor, beside Nico’s head.

And that was possibly the _least_ friendly thing Will had ever done.

Nico had probably realized this too, because his smile faltered. The timing couldn’t be worse, really, because whatever control Will had over his mind died with the proximity with the other boy. He glanced at Nico’s lips, parted and rosed and so _close_ … He gulped and looked back to Nico’s eyes, but it was already too late. Nico’s eyes were visibly wider, a tinge of fear visible on his expression.

Will let go of his hand and scrambled to get away. His mind was quiet, uncommonly numb, if not for a chant of “ _you destroyed this, you destroyed this, how can you fix_ this _?_ ”

“No!” Nico pleaded, his voice a bit husky, the fear in his eyes more pronounced. He reached out and held Will’s hand with his own.

Will kept his gaze on the other boy and tried not to think, not to hope or feel relief just yet, and waited as Nico closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Then he opened them again and his expression was determined, and Will realized it hadn’t been fear in his eyes, but indecision.

“Come here.” Nico asked, his voice much lower.

Will wasn’t able to think much after that.

He returned to his previous position and welcomed the non-friendly thoughts in his mind for once. He thought about kissing Nico and wondered what his friend would do. Slap him? Yell at him? Have no reaction? Kiss him back?

That was when Nico raised himself up, embraced his neck with one arm, and kissed him.

Will immediately closed his eyes and tilted his head a bit, making himself more comfortable. He gently pushed, allowing Nico to rest his head on the floor — it was better for kissing anyway. Nico didn’t seem to really know what to do, but that was the least of Will’s worries. All the boy had in mind was how warm Nico’s lips were; feverish, even, especially when compared to the rest of his skin, which was always cold. He was granted access to the other boy’s mouth and sighed as his tongue touched Nico’s, feeling a tremor run down his spine. _This had to be a dream_. Or maybe Elysium. Will didn’t care; he just enjoyed this.

He took the lead with enthusiasm, eliciting a small noise from Nico. They were still holding hands, so Will caressed Nico’s knuckles with his thumb, trying to convey how grateful, how happy the other boy made him feel.

They broke the kiss, then kissed again — Nico took a more active role this time, and the rhythm was a bit faster, a bit more desperate. When they broke apart, they were out of breath, their lips sore.

“How was that?” Nico whispered. Will had to make an effort to process the words; he had the impression his head was spinning a little.

“Uh?”

“Was it bad?” Nico whispered again, removing his arm from around Will’s neck, frowning a bit.

“No. No! What — Can we do it again?” Will asked, aware of the tinge of desperation in his tone.

Below him, Nico’s face lit up as he giggled again, and Will didn’t think there was anything more beautiful than him.

“Anytime you want, Sunshine.” Nico murmured and raised himself up for another kiss.


	15. Infatuation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three important moments in Will and Nico's history.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Low-key inspired by a conversation I had with the lovely [ynysafallon](http://ynysafallon.tumblr.com/), in which we shared some Solangelo headcanons.

I.

The day was exceptionally hot. Perfect for staying inside the Arts & Crafts building or having a picnic under the shadow of some tree. Maybe taking a nap in a hammock. Nico wouldn’t have minded any of those options.

Instead, Chiron thought it was a great idea if they all “enjoyed the beautiful day outside”.

(And _of course_ Will agreed with him.)

“C’mon, it can’t be that bad, Death Boy.” Will said, distracted, while dragging Nico towards the volleyball court. By now, Nico was used to touch, and even welcomed it. It didn’t mean it had stopped feeling electric when _Will_ was the one to do so. Nico was equal parts glad and annoyed by it. “It’s better than wrestling with the Ares cabin.” He motioned to his right with his head, where Clarisse was shoving someone’s head into the dirt.

“I could kick her ass.” Nico informed him.

“Volleyball is better. Besides, Jason is the one who invited us to play. And Piper.” He said as they entered the court. That caught Nico’s attention. His friends were visiting for the weekend. Nico had no particular interest for sports, but it _was_ only fair that he spent more time with them, even if _this_ was what they wanted to do.

He sighed. “Fine. But don’t we need more people? Say, six on each team?” He reminded Will, who shrugged.

“Not beach volleyball, no.”

“Nico! You actually came!” Jason yelled from the other side of the court, delighted. He started to run to the newcomers while Piper stayed behind, observing them as if confident they would go down.

“Yep.”

“Listen, I already talked to Piper and everything, and you can totally be on my team.” Jason offered, his hands in fists. He looked as if he’d start bouncing with excitement at any moment.

“Oh, um… Nice, but listen…” Nico started, then paused, thinking about how best to reject the offer. “Um, do you mind if I stay with Will, this once? I mean, you have Piper, right?” It sounded ruder than in his head, but now it was late to take it back. Jason didn’t seem offended, though. Only surprised, his eyes wide and taken aback posture. He glanced between Will — who was absentmindedly stretching beside the son of Hades — and Nico as if just realizing something.

Nico scrunched his eyebrows, thinking back to what he said and not finding anything shocking at all. What could he—

Oh.

Oh, wait.

_You have Piper…_

_As I have Will_.

“ _Not like that_ , Jason.” He hissed, clenching his hands in tight fists.

“Right.”

“I mean it.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You thought, and… you’re wrong. We’re just friends.” He muttered the last part.

“Okay. Okay, right.” Jason said, lifting his open palms in a defensive posture while walking backwards. However, his expression was amused. His eyes gleamed in a way that said he was probably thinking about his best man speech for Nico and Will’s wedding. He winked and gave Nico thumbs-up.

The son of Hades considered himself to be relatively polite, but right then he felt tempted to flip him off.

For his contentment, Jason tripped on his own feet and fell on his butt on the sand. Will breathed out a laughter beside him.

“Serves him right.” Nico mumbled, still too annoyed to even smirk. It _wasn’t_ like _that_.

(Which didn’t mean Nico didn’t daydreamed about how it would be.)

(But that was _completely_ normal.)

(…Gods, he needed a break.)

“Okay. What was _that_ about?” Will asked after a moment of silence between them. Nico gathered up courage and looked up at the other boy, but he didn’t need to worry; Will wasn’t looking at him. He was instead glancing at Piper and Jason, who was saying something to his girlfriend. He was frowning, confused, and there was something unreadable in his eyes that Nico wasn’t sure he wanted to decipher. It seemed… sad. It looked wrong in the healer’s face.

“Nothing.” He said too quickly, which brought Will’s attention back to him. Will’s look was searching, and Nico instinctively tried to make his expression neutral. It was a stupid tactic, of course. His face looked annoyed per usual, and trying to make it blank tended to make Will see right through him.

It wasn’t different this time, although Nico wasn’t sure what the healer had found in his face to make him smile that brightly. Gone was the undecipherable look in his eyes, and Nico couldn’t help but feel quite relieved. He felt his heart clench in his chest at the sight of that grin; he should be over it by now, but now and then Will managed to take his breath away again.

“You like me, don’t you?” Will said slowly, testing the words, unsure about them. His smile didn’t falter, though. Instead, his gaze became even more curious as he looked into Nico’s eyes. The son of Hades couldn’t think very straight.

“If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t be here, you _idiot_.” He added for good measure, but his voice sounded shaky and nervous nonetheless, and Will threw his head back and laughed, delighted.

“You do.” He sounded almost awed now, and Nico opened his mouth to deny it, but the words never left. He knew the precise moment when he lost control of his expression and let the panic show, because Will’s happiness faltered and his eyes grew serious. “It’s a good thing you like me, because I do like you. A lot. Like, like _like_ you.”

“Are you ten?”

“Nico.”

Will waited, observing as Nico looked away from his gaze and focused on taking deep breaths, as Will had taught him, so as to avoid hyperventilating.

Finally, Nico looked up, his eyes still showing some fear.

“It doesn’t freak you out? Not a tiny bit? I mean… I’m a _guy_.” His voice was low in the last part.

Will pondered, serious, before answering.

“Hi, A Guy. I’m bisexual.”

“Bi—Oh.”

“Yeah. It doesn’t freak me out.” He suddenly grinned. “Wait, does that mean you really like me, then?”

Nico rolled his eyes and looked away.

“I did, but now I’m reconsidering it.” He mumbled, which made Will laugh.

“Good.”

II.

Were 3-weeks anniversaries supposed to be special? Nico didn’t have a clue, and he didn’t really care. All he knew was that Will let him sleep until 10:30AM (Nico fell in love with him all over again), woke him up with kisses, then dragged him to their making-out spot in the woods, carrying a basket with him. He then proceed to lay out a picnic blanket on the grass and serve the food — sandwiches, strawberry scones, grapes, cocoa balls, and juice. Nico didn’t know where Will had gotten all of that, but he felt so relaxed, so _content_ as Will beamed and rambled on the important of 3-weeks anniversaries, that he didn’t even ask.

After eating, they made out — of course.

It was very good. Nico was very happy. But there was a thought bugging — that stupid voice that dragged him down after the war with Gaia, and still did sometimes. What if Will didn’t think Nico was as invested in this relationship as him? What if he wanted Nico to change, to show more affection in public and call him those annoying couple names? It wasn’t something Nico was comfortable with, and they hadn’t talked about it yet, but Will seemed to know his limits, until now… But still, for how long would he _accept_ them?

“Will,” He broke the kiss, reluctant and breathless, but the voice was irritating him too much. Will glanced down at him with confusion, still a little dazed. “You know I like you, right?”

He hadn’t meant to say that, but Will narrowed his eyes, as if processing those words was a complex task.

“Well, I have to say… I’m glad you’re making out with someone you like instead of, I don’t know, a mortal enemy or some—” He laughed when Nico slapped his arm.

“Stop being an idiot.” He said before he could think about the words, then his smile — he didn’t know he had been smiling; it was amazing that it didn’t hurt anymore — faltered. This was the exact type of behavior that he should avoid. “I mean, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, okay? About the insults and my lack of enthusiasm for… life, in general?” He breathed out, arms still embracing Will’s neck while his boyfriend straddled him on the ground. “I don’t think you’re an idiot. I just… I like our relationship the way it is, all of it, but I’ll understand if, if you don’t—”

“Honey, are you trying to make me leave on our anniversary? Seriously? You have the worst timing ever.”

Nico gave him a look. Will sighed.

“Nico, I know you don’t think I’m an idiot. I know this is your way of being, and guess what? That’s the Nico I fell in love with. My annoying brat friend who can’t pretend to be nice to save his life.”

“Hey! I’ll get you for that.” Nico said, his voice more affectionate than he’d planned. Will ignored that remark, choosing to lean in closer, until he was an inch away from Nico’s earlobe.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, darling.” His voice was low, and it sent a shiver down Nico’s spine.

“Good.”

III.

Nico didn’t think there was any _ideal_ condition to meet Hades in a pleasant way. This, though, didn’t even reach his low expectations.

They’d needed an army from the Underworld to defeat the giants. And the aid of the five children of the Big Three, along with the other four Heroes of Olympus. _And_ the Greek and Roman armies.

Nico was tired. He was filthy, and thirsty, and felt like lying down and not moving for about three days straight. The children of Apollo were already fussing over those whose had been injured. Will, on the other hand, was using his healing powers on Percy’s poisonous lacerations.

Seeing Will using his powers was both fascinating and horrifying. Fascinating because beautiful golden light was expelled from his fingers in threads, reaching the wound and curing it; and horrifying because Will got visibly weaker after using it — paler, out of breath, trembling. He was much better at it than years ago, in the Battle of Manhattan, but he could still cure about seven people this way without exhausting himself, and Percy was the ninth.

“Stop it, you idiot.” Nico muttered, stepping closer to him. Even in his tired state, his mind computed that Will hadn’t been wounded, and he was relieved.

“This is the last one. Kayla can take care of the rest. I just—” He narrowed his eyes, and the brightness from the healing light vanished as Will stopped making it. He fell on his knees on the floor, panting. Nico knelt beside him in an instant, dropping his sword and embracing his boyfriend instead. He saw Percy give him a thumbs-up, indicating he was already fine, thank you very much.

“It’s okay. You healed them. No one’s dead.” Saying those words felt like a miracle, like a blessing. He would make sure to comfort Will and then help the other healers. He’d like everyone to return to camp safe and sound, for once. He kissed Will’s cheek, murmuring comforting things as his boyfriend hugged him back.

And that’s how Hades found them.

Will was the one who saw him first, and he froze. Nico looked behind his back, and said “oh”. It was a way of describing the situation.

None of them said anything for a while.

Then Nico stood up, helping Will up as well. He gave one look to his boyfriend, who nodded and managed to lift up one side of his lips for a fraction of second, silently giving him permission.

“Thanks for the army, dad.” Nico started.

“No problem. These are just some skeletons I had lying around the place, so.” He shrugged, shifting his glance between Nico, Will, and the ground.

“So… this is my boyfriend, Will. Solace. He is great, really.” He paused, then added, “He’s my best friend.”

The last part sounded somewhat more honest than the rest, even though it was all true. He hoped his attempt of securing a spot in Elysium for Will wasn’t too obvious.

Hades considered this information with a thoughtful expression. He frowned his lips, but seemed only pensive instead of angry or distressed; he scratched his chin.

“Child of Apollo, huh?” He nodded once. “I guess I understand the appeal quite well.” He murmured, glancing to his right. Nico followed his gaze and saw Persephone kneeling down, examining a warrior’s sprained ankle. “The summer… The _warmth_ , can be very welcome to us.” He looked back at them while Nico scrunched his eyebrows.

“Dad, it’s not like that _at all_.” I mean, sure he liked to cuddle with the ball of warmth he called boyfriend, but that wasn’t _relevant_. He didn’t date people based on their body temperature. What the actual _Zeus_?

Hades gave him an amused look, one corner of his lips lifting up, and Nico had the funny impression he’d misunderstood his father’s words.

“I know.” He said, then all the amusement vanished from his face and became a glare the second he turned to his son’s boyfriend. “William Solace.”

Nico felt his boyfriend tense up beside him, but still Will stepped forward — slowly, still not recovered from all that healing —, and knelt down, bowing.

“It’s an honor and a pleasure to finally meet you, sir.” He said. It was clear to anyone hearing him how nervous he was, but he didn’t flinch or backed off. Nico felt a surge of pride and affection in his chest, and he felt like smiling a little.

Hades’ expression changed for a second, bewildered and unsure, and he considered Will with new eyes.

“Well. I hadn’t heard anything like _that_ for a while.” He sounded satisfied, and motioned for Will to stand up, which he did, slowly. Nico walked forward and grabbed his hand, interlacing their fingers, silently supporting him. Will squeezed it once in acknowledgment.

Hades sighed quietly, nodding once again.

“Okay. I won’t interfere. I want to talk to you in private, though.” He pointed at Will.

“Sure.” Will’s voice was tremulous. He was undoubtedly visualizing his fate as an eternity in the Fields of Punishment.

“It doesn’t have to be now. I see you are all suffering the consequences of battle.” He motioned to the drained warriors and healers running with supplies and stretchers. Nico couldn’t feel anyone in immediate danger, though. “I would invite you to dinner,” His voice was uncertain, just like it got when he talked about mortals’ habits. “But then you’d have to stay in the Underworld forever, and I believe you’d like to live a few more years?”

“That would be great.” Will said, his voice low and in a higher pitch than normal. Hades nodded again.

“Meanwhile, keep doing whatever it is that you’re doing to make him happy.” He motioned his head to Nico’s direction. “I see his health is improved.” He commented, and Nico could _sense_ the shift in Will’s posture; how he stood a bit taller, and his voice was no longer tremulous, now that the conversation topic was something health-related.

“He is much better, in all aspects. He’s still stubborn with some things,” Glare at Nico. “But he is headed in the right direction, sir. I assure you that.”

Hades raised his eyebrows, probably taken aback by Will’s sudden boost of confidence, then sent Nico a pointed look.

“Stubborn, huh? We’ll talk about that.”

“Look what you’ve done.” Nico hissed so that only Will heard.

“I have to go now.” Hades said as Persephone appeared beside him, looking tired.

“Ready to go?” She asked, offering her hand. He took it and squeezed it once.

“Sure.” He said gently. He glanced at the boys one last time. “I’ll see you soon. Nico. Will.”

And then he, Persephone, and the hundreds of skeletons in the field disappeared.

Will almost fell on his knees again, relieved.

“I’m alive.” He said as if it was the most unbelievable statement of history. Nico laughed quietly, hugging his boyfriend.

“Of course you’re alive, dummy. I like you, he wouldn’t kill anyone I like.” Then he thought better and frowned. “Probably. Maybe. Okay, you know what? Let’s celebrate your survival.”

Will laughed and hugged Nico back.

“I love you.”

Nico held on tighter.

“I love you too.”

Will smiled a little, still looking exhausted, but happy.

“Good.” He said, and kissed his boyfriend.


	16. The Angel’s Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "When Nico told him that he’d been in love with Percy Jackson for years, it shouldn’t have affected him as it did. Truly, it shouldn’t."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also inspired by [ynysafallon](http://ynysafallon.tumblr.com/)'s headcanons!

When Nico told him that he’d been in love with Percy Jackson for _years_ , it shouldn’t have affected him as it did. Truly, it shouldn’t.

He thought he was past the point of being surprised by Nico di Angelo. Now he realized that might never happen. He might never reach that point.

The first weeks of their friendship were filled with silly jokes (from Will), pointless talks that were so important, endless bickering that would lead to no conclusion at all… And all of this was nothing but tentative steps into building something solid, real. Unbreakable.

There was also the serious talks. Less frequent, but they felt different. They weren’t baby steps, but giant leaps that were the _result_ of trust. And with each talk, Will was able to understand another facet of the endless enigma that was Nico. He understood the nightmares, the aggressiveness, the _fear_ , the reluctance in getting invested into people, the mood swings. Yet it also made Will sure that there was nothing more beautiful than people. Nico, in special. Nico, who had every reason to believe he deserved to be alone; and yet he woke up and tried tried and tried until it got better. Until breathing and staying were easier. And Will swore to himself that he’d be there every step of the way. Nico, who had seen and caused more deaths than anyone should, and _because_ of that knew life’s worth. He knew what the dead had lost.

Thus, the Percy Jackson thing shouldn’t have hit a nerve as it did.

But how could it be any other way? Nico had suffered, had _left_ , because of the pain of having to deal with those unrequited feelings and with himself. That whole mess… changed him. For good. Will could understand it now; it was that hesitation in the beginning, when Nico couldn’t quite meet his eyes, and would open his mouth to say something but swallow the words instead.

And still.

And still Nico was caring. Gentle, in his own way. Attentive, _trusting_. When Nico told him about Percy, Will understood he was receiving his heart. _Someone else broke it but I trust you. I trust_ you. It felt like a blessing and, simultaneously, like the biggest responsibility in the world.

Sometimes Will feared that _he’d_ break Nico’s heart somehow. That he wouldn’t be able to handle it as it deserved. Why he was scared, he couldn’t pinpoint. Maybe it was knowing that that heart had been mended over and over and it might not handle another breaking with such grace. Maybe it was the fear that he wasn’t worthy of owning it, no matter how messy Nico was. And he _was_ a mess.

But… so wasn’t _he_? At the end of the day, weren’t they two boys who had seen and lived through so much death that remembering why staying was important became hard? They were. A mess only a few people could understand, and less than _that_ could tolerate.

But they had each other. They would trip and fall and bruise, but the other would be there to lift them up, to help them keep going. That was what Nico was asking for when he gave Will his heart, and Will knew this because that was what _he_ wanted. Because his heart was the same, and it belonged to a messy dark-haired boy whose shoulder blades should’ve had wings.


	17. Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The sea had once reminded him of Percy. Now its color reminded him of Will’s eyes."

The sea had once reminded him of Percy. Now its color reminded him of Will’s eyes.

Nico was standing up, leaning his shoulder and his head against a tree, thinking. Or rather, trying not to. You see, he was restless again, having not so nice thoughts without any reason at all. The day had been perfectly fine. He’d done his duties, eaten two meals, drunk water, taught little campers how to fight with a sword (he was surprised at his own patience), helped at the infirmary with Will and Austin. He had talked to people, made some of them laugh, and didn’t flinch when someone accidentally touched him. It’d been a while since that last happened.

It was all frightening him a bit.

Months ago, he had lost hope for himself. He had lost the faith that he’d ever be normal, like everyone else. He had stopped believing he would ever just _talk_ to anyone again just because he wanted to, and yet he did that today, and yesterday… He didn’t remember when this behavior started, but it was a habit now. He didn’t know if it was permanent, and he was afraid to _hope_ that it was. Hoping usually ended badly for him.

He heard footsteps he could, to his surprise, recognize, and then warmth enveloped him. First, just where the pair of strong arms hugged him, but then the warmth spread all through him and made him both relaxed and a bit tense, hyper-aware of the person it came from.

“Hi, Death Boy.” Will whispered in his ear. A voice in the back of Nico’s mind noted that months ago he would have drawn his sword at Will’s direction the second he heard the first footstep, just like he did when they met that morning in the war. Everything was different now, and he had got used to it already. “What are you doing?”

Nico shrugged, his arms still crossed. “Nothing.”

Will hummed. “What are you thinking about?”

And that was a trickier question. Nico had to think before answering. _I’m thinking of how much I like my life right now. I’m scared it will get worse and I won’t recover again._

“I… like my life. It’s terrifying, because what if I lose the good things again? And I’m surprised because I never thought I _would_ like my life.” _Not after Bianca’s death._

But he did like his life. He liked Will’s idea of zombies and cracks on the earth so he could sit with his friends from the Apollo cabin. He liked Will and his’ habit of extending their arms at each other when they wanted a hug. He liked that he was looking forward to dinner once again, and observing how worked up everyone got about Capture the Flag. The books the Athena cabin lent him; Will’s consideration in buying him a brand new black jacket, despite detesting the color. The fact no one seemed afraid of him anymore, and instead treated him like a friend.

This very moment, when he trusted Will enough not to leave, but to actually listen to him, would have been unimaginable a few months ago; nothing but an unreachable daydream.

“Oh, I see.” Will whispered, straightening himself and hugging Nico tighter. It took him a while to answer, so much that Nico didn’t think he would say anything. “I can’t guarantee things won’t get worse. Nothing is constant, you know. We get happy only to get sad again.”

Nico frowned, but Will continued before he could interrupt.

“It’s a process called negative homeostasis. It’s a balance, in which nothing is constant. We eat and have sugar highs, and the body releases insulin, and then we eat again. The water in the rivers and oceans evaporate and then there is rain, and evaporation, and so on. Photosynthesis. The fact we need sleep and awake time. Homeostasis exists practically everywhere, in nature and in ourselves. Right now you are happy. Perhaps some time in the future you will be sad, or angry.”

“So you’re saying…” Nico said, his voice quieter and angrier than he’d expected. Will didn’t loose the hug. “I’ll never be happy?”

“I’m saying no one is happy all the time. I’m saying that if and when negative emotions knock on your door, or when something bad happens, don’t lose hope. Happiness _will_ come. It always does. That’s what I meant.” Will said.

Then there was silence for a while.

“Besides, everything is different now. You don’t have to go through the bad times alone. You have not only me, but many many friends from many many cabins. Any of them will be happy to help, okay?”

Nico nodded after contemplating the words, internalizing, memorizing them, and Will kissed his temple.

“Good. You should know recovery isn’t a constant, straight line that only goes up, okay? But you’re not alone.”

“Okay.” Nico said in a quiet voice after a while. “Thanks.”

“Anytime, love.”

Nico felt his heart beating a bit faster at the nickname. That one was new, and he liked it. He made a mental note to work up his courage and ask Will what _that_ was about. Not just the nickname, but their behavior in general. Will certainly didn’t go around hugging all his friends from behind and kissing their temples.

But before he could dwell on it, Will sighed and let him go, holding his hand instead. The sudden cold made Nico shiver, and Will noticed.

“Let’s go get our jackets, and then we go to dinner. I heard there would be Italian tonight.” And they walked, Will rambling on and on about food and history and somehow involving something health-related in the conversation, and Nico would make a snarky remark now and then.

It was later that night, after saying goodnight to Will, that Nico realized, alone in his cabin, that he was looking forward to the next day for the first time in as long as he could remember, and he realized that, at least then, he wasn’t afraid anymore.


	18. that make dark heaven light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "His body didn’t have the energy to react to anything. Not the stupid stations on the radio. Not the news that weren’t new in the television. Not the happy, loud children and the slow elders or the adults that didn’t pay attention to anything, all of whom he could see from his bedroom window in his apartment in New Rome. Nothing reached him. The world was going too fast, and he couldn’t move at all.
> 
> And then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from that one Romeo and Juliet quote. It's what Shakespeare would have wanted.  
> Content warning for this one: depression!

He was apathetic, but had enough spirit of mind to recognize this was a bad day. The world kept on moving on and going too fast, the minutes blurring into hours that passed in front of his eyes. And all Nico could do was just watch.

His body didn’t have the energy to react to anything. Not the stupid stations on the radio. Not the news that weren’t new in the television. Not the happy, loud children and the slow elders or the adults that didn’t pay attention to anything, all of whom he could see from his bedroom window in his apartment in New Rome. Nothing reached him. The world was going too fast, and he couldn’t move at all.

And then.

Two arms, enveloping him, making him unable to move.

A chin, resting on his left shoulder, making a point of pressure there that almost hurt, but felt quite good.

A deep sigh coming from the man behind him, not in annoyance or impatience, but in wonder, in happiness, in love.

Warm, dry lips kissing his neck with passion for more than one second. It didn’t feel like a kiss. It felt like a greeting; like, _hello. I’ve missed you_.

Nico wondered if this ability to communicate without words was a son of Apollo thing, like music could do. He wanted to ask Will what was going on, what was the occasion; to break the silence and just say something. _Hey. I’m sorry. I’m not good company right now. You didn’t leave. Thank you for not leaving. I love you_.

But Will’s lips on his neck felt comfortable, moving a little up and down in a soft caress. _You don’t have to apologize. I’ll wait for you_. And it dawned on Nico’s mind that maybe Will could hear him without words too. That maybe he didn’t need to speak up to be listened to. Will was very good at knowing his feelings, at reading him. He had always been.

And so Nico let Will touch him, let him reach his heart and sing a song that made flowers grow again. Made him aware of his blood streaming through his veins, and his body keeping him alive. Made him aware of his breathing, of the tense muscles on his shoulders.

And when Nico started registering the passage of time again, it didn’t feel as impossible to move with it.


	19. Only Photographs Remind Us of the Passing of Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will is looking through his camera roll and he notices something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is taken from ‘Seventeen’, by Alessia Cara, and the fic is based on [this prompt](http://otpdisaster.tumblr.com/post/116785880410/person-a-looking-through-selfies-of-themselves-and).

Will smiled as he scrolled through the photos in his phone. He liked to do it now and then, in chronological order. There wasn’t anyone missing; he had photos of his mother, Austin, Kayla, Cecil, Lou Ellen, Clarisse, the Seven, Coach Hedge and his family, and Nico.

He remembered Nico’s reluctance in appearing in photos, and his confusion about the concept of selfie. His subsequent insistence in knowing why Will wanted to take photos of him...

-

_“Because,” He’d explained patiently. “I’d like to remember you.”_

_In the occasion, Nico narrowed his eyes and considered that answer in silence. He didn’t argue that he’d always be here; it wasn’t something anyone could guarantee. Nico knew loss as much as Will did._

_“Fine. Just tell me where I have to look at.” He begrudgingly gave in, rolling his eyes as Will beamed._

_He’d set the camera to selfie mode and told Nico where he should look at. Then snapped the photo._

-

He looked at it now, his smile soft as he stared at Nico’s glare at the camera

-

_”I look weird.” He’d said upon analyzing the photo._

_“It’s normal for you to feel like this. It’s actually a physics phenomenon called—”_

_“Never mind. Can’t you just destroy it? Surely there’s a way.”_

_“I could, but I have a policy of never deleting photos with friends in it.”_

_“…Delete?” Nico’s confusion seemed genuine, and Will laughed so hard his stomach hurt._

_“Gods, I forget how old you are sometimes.” He said when he was able to talk again, ruffling his hair._

_“You’re so annoying.” Nico said, slapping his hand away. “Why do I put up with you?”_

_“Because you_ love _me.” Nico rolled his eyes, shaking his head._

_The fact that he didn’t deny it didn’t come to Will’s attention until much later._

-

He kept scrolling up. Most of his photos during that time had been of Nico, with a new one almost daily. He remembered he’d make funny faces, in the hopes of getting Nico to smile in at least one photo — that particular sight was rare and valuable. Even now Will couldn’t completely recall it, hadn’t memorized it.

Then he stumbled upon a video he’d recorded and opened it, knowing what it was.

-

_“You know, you can smile in photos if you want.” Will had informed Nico, smirking a little, clearly voicing a challenge._

_Nico didn’t look at him as he spoke. “Make me.”_

_And so Will approached him the next day, extended his arm that was holding the phone (this time set to video and selfie mode, already recording) and circled Nico’s waist with the other._

_Then he tickled him._

_The reaction was immediate. Nico started giggling and trying to drive Will’s hand away. Will laughed all the while, delighted that he could capture his friend’s laugh in video._

_“Will! You jerk!” Nico yelled before succeeding in stepping away from him, but not before Will could kiss his cheek, which was still up in a smile._

-

To this day, the video was one of Will’s favorite things. It was saved in a flash drive and he sent it to himself in an email, so he could simply download it again in case the other copies were lost. Everything about it made Will smile. The way Nico jumped when Will circled his waist, his eyes wide; the moment when his surprised face broke into a big smile; how he would recoil himself away in a natural response to the tickling, but didn’t flinch when Will kissed his cheek.

He scrolled further up.

It was the first time he saw his photo album in a while, so there were many new ones, most of them with his siblings and his dad (also saved in the flash drive), and then there were some new ones with Nico again.

He frowned upon seeing these ones. They were their normal, almost-daily selfies, but Nico wasn’t scowling, like the previous ones; he had a small smile instead, that grew slightly bigger and more gentle as Will took more and more photos. He also wasn’t looking straight at the camera, staring instead at some point in the phone screen, when the photo was taken.

Will realized Nico was looking at him.

Before he could convince himself not to jump to conclusions, a wave of emotion hit him. He scrolled through the album once again, and the only thing that he could think of was: _he smiled because of_ me.

Maybe it was egoistical to think like that; Nico had other reasons to be happy. Will knew very well that the fact his boyfriend was in a much better place now had nothing to do with him. It was all on Nico — part of the reason why he admired him so much.

But in these photos Nico was looking at _him_ as he smiled. Will swore he could feel his heart skipping a beat, which probably meant he was having palpitations (he’d read about the thing).

“What are you doing?” Someone asked beside him and Will jumped in surprise, looking up to find his boyfriend with a bored expression on his face.

He probably stared at him for too long, because Nico raised one eyebrow.

“What?” His face didn’t show the hesitation that appeared in his voice.

Will gave him a half-smile before throwing his phone on the floor, standing up from his spot below the tree shadow, and wrapping Nico in a hug.

He felt Nico stiffen in surprise for a moment, then hug him back.

“You’re weird.”

“I love you.” Will said, ignoring the small voice in his head that said his boyfriend was probably very confused right now.

After a moment, Nico hugged him tighter.

He didn’t say it back. He didn’t need to. Will already knew.


	20. 'cause you're my religion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico and Will celebrate their engagement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was for [bailci](http://bailci.tumblr.com/).  
>  **ATTENTION!!** : This one is rated Mature 'cause smut!! But, like, being very honest, it's not even very good smut. It's in the second part/section of the fic, in case you wanna avoid it.
> 
> Title taken from Lana Del Rey's 'Religion'.

“Will!” Nico hissed, his eyes widening in alarm. “What the fuck? Choose something made for people, not for gods.”

“Relax, love.” Will said, winking at him. “It’s not everyday that you get engaged.”

Nico opened his mouth to argue that, no, there was _never_ a good occasion to order Ambrosia (one of the most expensive champagnes ever produced) but Will’s smile was

so genuine and content, his voice so bright, happiness visible in his posture alone, that Nico didn’t try to change his mind. His voice was softer when he spoke again.

“You know, since we’re gonna get married, we _should_ start saving up. I didn’t agree to marry you for you take me to Vegas or some other shit like that. I fully expect a fancy ceremony, Dr. Solace.”

Will laughed, prompting Nico to smile along — like always.

“Hm, like what? Plaza Hotel? Caviar at the reception? Trained white doves to bring the rings?”

Nico frowned, pretending to think hard about it. “Hm. Is that the best you can do? I was expecting a Vera Wang suit, for starters. Crystal glasses, of course. A diamond rock the size of my fist and all that jazz.” His tone was playful, and Will’s eyes were full of joy as he reached out and put Nico’s hair out of his face,

behind his ear.

“Of course. Any other requests?”

“I want The Rolling Stones playing, live.”

“Consider it done. Perhaps I’ll invite William and Kate so they see what a real wedding looks like.”

Nico smiled at his fiancé, admiring him. In all honesty, Nico wouldn’t mind if they _did_ a road trip to Vegas that night and got married there. He didn’t mind if cold pizza and warm beer were the food of his wedding. He didn’t care how they did it. All he wanted was to have a ring on his finger, on his left hand, and belong to Will

forever.

Now, when the fuck had he become such a sap?

(Probably years ago, back in college, when he met a boy with sun-kissed skin, kindness in his every word and action, and a strong desire to help as many people as he

could.)

-

After their fancy dinner, Will drove them home, one hand on the wheel and the other holding Nico’s. Both men were smiling, exchanging a few glances now and then.

Later, Nico wouldn’t remember how long it took for them to get the elevator to the tenth floor, but he would remember the way they kissed — it was messy and sloppy, made difficult by smiles and laughter in between kisses. Opening the door was another adventure, and Nico all but pushed Will inside, kicking the door closed before kissing Will again.

‘I love you’ was echoing in Nico’s mind, but he couldn’t tell if Will was saying it right now, or if it was a memory of how many times he’d heard it today. The words delighted him, made him shiver.

When Nico broke the kiss, in need for air, Will promptly kissed his jaw, his neck, where he bit hard enough to leave a mark, and Nico heard himself whimper. His breathing was heavier, his hands holding onto Will’s back almost painfully. And then Will’s hands went down his waist and held him by his thighs, lifting him up and

taking them to their room. Nico spread kisses wherever he could — Will’s golden hair, his earlobe, his jaw.

Will set him down on the bed carefully. He took Nico’s clothes off with urgency, but precision — the tie, the suit, the button-up shirt and the pants. His intention was to make Nico feel good and as happy as he was, so he went slow, taking his time. He spread open-mouthed kisses all over his shoulders, his chest, his abdomen, his thighs…

“ _Will_.” Nico gasped when Will’s hands, which’d been traveling through his body, held his cock and balls. Will shuddered, delighted at how desperate Nico sounded. He licked the head of his cock, making Nico moan, and sucked it. “ _Fuck_ , Will.”

He kept sucking and stroking his cock, until Nico’s hips were rising from the bed, trying to fuck Will’s mouth. At that point, Will got up and took a condom and the lube bottle. He also took his own clothes off, making Nico groan, impatient.

“Touch yourself, love.” Nico complied, stroking his cock and massaging his balls in a steady rhythm. Gasps and moans of pleasure left his parted lips, and his eyes were closed.

Will got a pillow and put it below Nico, at the small of his back, so he could relax and not force his hips to stay up. He then lubed his fingers, watching as Nico touched himself.

“Open your legs, babe.” He commanded, and Nico bit his lips while complying.

With one hand Will lubed Nico’s ass, estimulating his asshole, and with the other he rubbed one nipple, biting the other. The sounds of pleasure Nico was making made him even harder.

Once Nico was more relaxed, he slowly slid one finger in, curving in up so he rubbed his prostate.

“Will!” Nico cried out, arching his back. Will continued the motion with finger, all while alternating between leaving bite marks on his collarbone and pinching his nipples.

In the next minutes, he slid another finger in, and then a third, making sure Nico was lubed up and stretched for him. Nico, on his part, was holding onto the sheets with unnecessary force, crying out Will’s name and moaning.

“Will… Will, please, please, I need you _now_.”

“I’m almost done, love.” He muttered in Nico’s ear, finger-fucking him just a little deeper, drawing another loud moan from the man below him.

“ _Fuck_! Will, please! Ah—”

“Okay. Put the condom in me, will you?”

“No.” Nico said, his voice hard. He pushed Will away by his shoulders, enough so he could look into his eyes. “You’re cumming inside me tonight.”

“Fuck.” Will breathed out, leaning in so he could kiss Nico, hard, on the lips. He pulled away so he could lube his own cock. Then he positioned himself, lifting Nico’s left leg and setting it over his shoulder, and entered him slowly, letting him get used to the feeling.

Soon Will was fucking him, both men moaning, crying out each other’s names. Everything was lost to sensation, to warmth and sweat. Everything led to the feeling of skin where their bodies met, sweaty and hot and desperate.

The sight of Nico coming undone was what made Will come — Nico grasping the sheets, his mouth opened; opening his eyes, looking into Will’s with silent desperation, the sound of Will’s name in Nico’s lips, again and again and again as Nico came.

“I love you.” Will whispered in Nico’s ear after it was done. Both of them were panting, lying still on the bed, their muscles relaxed and unable to move. “I love you.”

-

“We can tell the others tomorrow. My father will be happy. The way he is, he’ll probably give us a trip all over the world as a wedding gift.”

Will breathed out a laughter. “That doesn’t sound too bad. I always wanted to know South America.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “You and your love for warmth and sun.” He said with a slightly disgusted tone, making Will laugh again, only louder.

“God, I’m marrying a vampire. What do you have against the sun?” He asked, rolling in the bed so he could wrap Nico in a hug.

“It’s too hot.”

“It’s the _sun_. Of course it’s hot, my little Vampire Boy.”

“You shut your mouth, William.” Will laughed again, and they stayed in comfortable silence for a couple of minutes. Nico almost fell asleep, but Will called him.

“What?” He mumbled.

“Soon I’ll be William Solace-di Angelo. Or you’ll be Nico di Angelo-Solace.” His voice was full of yearning, and it made Nico’s heart warmer somehow, made him impossibly happier.

“I know, Sunshine.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Thanks for agreeing to marry me.”

“Thanks for asking. And for buying Ambrosia for me.” Will laughed again.

“Whenever you want.” And his voice sounded a tad more tired, his words slurred in the slightest, so Nico refrained himself from saying anything else and waited for sleep to reach them, bringing peaceful dreams.


	21. A Win-Win Situation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Will was getting better at sword training."

Will was getting better at sword training. Much better, in fact, and Nico was aware he wasn’t solely responsible for this improvement. Will didn’t always practice with him, after all.

“I just want to be good enough to at least deserve to train with you.” Will had told him one day, and Nico gave him a dirty look in response to that show of self-deprecation.

“You know I don’t care about that.” Nico said, serious, but Will only shrugged, his soft grin not fading – or his resolve.

And so he practiced with all the campers willing to train him, for months. Almost five weeks passed until Will came up to Nico again in the Arena, a bright smile on his face.

“Okay, I think I’m ready now.”

Nico raised one eyebrow.

“I’m still not sure why this is so important to you, but okay, bring it on.”

They started to fight, and Nico soon realized that Will was right. He _was_ ready.

Okay, he wasn’t _perfect_. He still fell short on attack, but his defense had improved drastically, as well as his stamina – enough that Nico had to really focus on what he was doing, but there rarely was a gap in Will’s defense. He was proud.

“Who the hell did you train with?” Nico grunted, barely being heard as their swords clashed. “Chiron?”

Will only smiled at him as he blocked Nico’s attack once again.

Nico immediately drew his sword back and swung it again and again and again, too fast for most people to keep up with, but somehow Will’s eyes and hands followed his movements and were just as fast, deflecting them. It wasn’t working, so Nico changed tactics.

He swung his sword from the right to the left, at the level of his opponent’s abdomen. He recalled helping Will with that, but he cursed himself when he realized he trained his boyfriend well. Their swords clashed once more, and Nico put more strength to it, trying to make Will’s grip weaker.

It wasn’t working.

He looked up at Will’s eyes, which were showing nothing but focus and concentration. He knew he could go further, but his arms were tired. It was a hot day, and he was sweaty all over, already dreaming of a cold shower and a comfortable bed.

Will didn’t seem much better. Drops of sweat were streaming down his face, some of his blonde curls darkened and glued to his forehead. He was panting, his cheeks blushed, and his blue eyes were _piercing_ through Nico’s, determined. It made Nico gulp, the feeling of the skeletal butterflies in his stomach more alive than ever. A chill went down his spine. He wouldn’t be surprised if Will could do this for another hour.

But then Will grinned, very slowly, and Nico stared. He only had a second to think that _this_ – his blue eyes contrasting against tanned skin, which was glowing with a layer of sweat, and that knowing grin on his lips – would be a pretty painting he would be happy to make, if he had any artistic skills at all. Will swung his sword and made a movement that made Nico drop the grip on his.

He only realized what had happened when he heard his sword hitting the earth.

He stared at his weapon for a long moment – perhaps a minute or two –, before returning his gaze to Will and his bright smile. Now his eyes were back at being expressive, and they were full of joy.

“So what did you think? Did you have fun?” Will asked as soon as he could speak with some clarity, although his breathing was still heavy.

Nico stared.

He had just won – won in a sword fight against the son of Hades, Ghost King, survivor of two wars, let it be noted – and the first thing he asked was if he had _fun_.

“You’re just a complete dork, aren’t you?” He wondered aloud, then stepped forward, circled Will’s neck with his arms, and kissed him. His mouth was warmer than usual. Nico was aware that they were both a little disgusting at the moment and in desperate need of a shower, but he didn’t care.

“I thought you were great.” He informed his boyfriend in a low voice, then gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. “We should definitely do this again.”

Will giggled.

“Yeah. Now you don’t have to worry about me being defenseless in a fight, and we can practice together, if you want.” He was obviously very satisfied with himself.

Nico almost said he would want to practice with Will even if he was the worst sword fighter in the universe, but he didn’t. He just nodded, and appreciated the sight of Will’s face illuminating with happiness. The last time he had been this excited because of Nico had been after their first kiss.

As they left the arena, holding hands, Will rambled on and on about all the techniques he wanted to try. It was strange to see terms of swordfighting coming out of Will’s mouth instead of medical expressions, but he seemed happy to talk about this, often looking at his boyfriend in search of approval.

 _Well_ , Nico reasoned, enjoying the sense of contentment blooming in his chest, _losing isn’t always bad_.

He doubted he had lost at all.


	22. Another Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico brings Will a gift from the Underworld.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess I'm now considering this the unofficial sequel to A Gift (chapter 6 of this collection). But you don't have to read that one to understand this one! I only now made the connection.

Their special knocking was what made Will look up from the clipboard in his hands. The knocking had nothing special, nor it was combined. Nico just did it one day and it became a thing between them.

And talking about Nico…

There he stood, in the doorway of the infirmary, hands behind his back. His attention was all focused on his boyfriend, although his expression revealed nothing.

Once, Nico had been hesitant to enter the infirmary. Once, he had eyed the place as if it would swallow him whole and torture him for a thousand years.

Now he stepped in as if it was his own home. Will smiled.

“Hel–”

“I brought something for you.” Nico interrupted, saying the words too fast, which betrayed his excitement.

Will blinked.

“Why, good afternoon for you too, Oh Dark One.” He tilted his head, widening his eyes dramatically. “Fancy seeing you around. How was the Underworld?”

Nico rolled his eyes before saying in a flat tone, “Boring. Cold. Dry. But that’s not the point!”

He showed Will what he was holding behind his back – a plain-colored vase with a small cactus in it, shaped like a flower with opened petals. It was pale green at the center of each “petal”, growing stronger in color at the edges. It was beautiful.

“It reminded me of you,” Nico quickly said, before Will could react. “Because you’re a prick.”

It took Will a few seconds to process it, and he gave Nico a pointed look, which made his boyfriend giggle. Thus, Will was unable to pretend to be mad anymore, and he laughed along. Nico had that type of laughter that was way funnier than any joke – whether because it was rare or because of its sound alone, Will couldn’t tell.

“I _hate_ you.” He said, his tone playful so Nico wouldn’t doubt he didn’t mean that at all.

“Hey! That’s _my_ line!” Nico’s voice too was charged with humor as he complained, putting one hand on his waist while the other still held the small vase between them. “You know, I didn’t use to feel so cold in the Underworld before you came and forced me to absorb some sunlight. I got used to the heat, and it’s entirely your fault.”

“Hm, you’re strangely romantic today.” Will touched the other boy’s forehead with the back of his hand, putting on his concerned expression and pretending to check for fevers. “Are you feeling alright?”

Nico’s response was to roll his eyes, stand on his toes and kiss Will very chastely on the lips. It was quick, but it still made Will’s pulse accelerate, the feeling of Nico’s lips on him still quite vivid. He sighed.

“I missed you too.” He said, appreciating the brief moment in which Nico’s eyes searched his in a silent ‘is that okay?’.

Nico scowled only after finding the approval he’d sought.

“Who said I missed you, Solace?”

“You thought about me,” Will said, his tone bright. “In the Underworld.”

Nico snorted, opening his mouth to retort, but he seemed to think better of it and just pouted angrily instead.

“And you came to see me first thing since you got back.” That was a wild guess, but Nico only scowled more, so Will reckoned he was right.

“Only to make that stupid joke.” His lips curved upwards in a teasing manner.

And then he winked, his smile growing as Will’s jaw fell.

It took a few seconds for Will to find his voice again, and he had to clear his throat before speaking.

“Well, welcome home.”

If possible, Nico smiled even more at the word ‘home’, and Will’s chest felt very warm.

Nico was home.


	23. Pause

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico and Will have a talk about Bianca.

It was strangely warm when it _shouldn’t_ be. It was December, a week away from Christmas. It shouldn’t be warm.

But Will had forced him to wear a jacket, wrapped him in a blanket and on top of all that, hugged him.

And he didn’t leave, so Nico wasn’t alone.

“Do you think she hated me? And that’s why she chose rebirth?” Nico whispered. Will could hear him, though, since Cabin 13 was silent and empty except for the two of them.

Will could see where Nico was coming from, but he knew Nico thought that only because he failed to understand what his sister had been thinking when she made that choice. And that spoke a lot about him; the way Nico couldn’t believe how much people loved him and wanted him to live.

“Bianca loved you. I think she chose rebirth because she couldn’t bear to see you suffer like that. Maybe she didn’t want you to waste your life trying to bring her back.”

Nico’s head snapped up, his eyes screaming outrage, but Will spoke before Nico could.

“Not that it’d be a waste.” He corrected himself. “But you had no guarantee that it would ever work, you know. And you wouldn’t give up. And she knew that.”

The fire in Nico’s eyes quieted down after a moment of consideration, and he looked away, pensive. Soon he was back to his previous, quiet position. He looked lost in his own thoughts, and Will was desperate to know if they were good or bad.

But he also didn’t want to interrupt him. He didn’t want to risk Nico asking him to leave.

Will waited.

“I see your point. But…” Nico never finished the sentence, seeming to have forgotten it as soon as he spoke – was he even aware he’d said something? His expression was lost, his lips still parted. After a moment, he rested his head on Will’s shoulder, and Will immediately took a hand to his friend’s hair, caressing it. He silently rejoiced when Nico didn’t pull away. The change from the Nico who flinched and isolated himself to the one who welcomed touch made Will proud of him.

"I miss her.” Nico whispered, and Will pulled him closer, not saying anything.

He couldn’t tell how long they stood there, in silence, but Nico eventually fell asleep. Will carefully laid him down, putting a pillow under his head and adjusting the blanket. He didn’t want to leave Nico alone, so he lied down beside him and ignored the urge to caress his friend’s hair – he might wake up _and_ dislike it, so nope.

He fell asleep too, a while after that. And once he woke up he would appreciate how disconcerted Nico got about them napping side-by-side, his eyes still dull from mourning, but his tongue just as sharp and quick as always. They bickered, and Will gave him a knowing smile and didn’t take his eyes away when Nico did. They behaved like they always had, and yet it felt like something had changed, like they’d taken a step forward.

That night, when they were together in the bonfire – Will silent because he was not feeling excited enough to sing out loud –, Nico bumped their knees and thanked him. Will smiled at him, and they stared at each other for a while before looking away.


	24. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> " _This is not happening_ , Nico thought, keeping his expression blank even when his heart raced almost to the point of aching. _This is not happening_.
> 
> Except it was, of course."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one kind of has a sad ending, because it was supposed to have a continuation but I... never wrote said continuation, oops.

_This is not happening_ , Nico thought, keeping his expression blank even when his heart raced almost to the point of aching. _This is not happening_.

Except it was, of course.

Will Solace stared at him, waiting for an answer, and Nico desperately wondered how he could explain it. Bizarrely, he thought about 4th grade, when he first met Percy and thought, ‘ _He’s pretty_ ’.

He remembered, now, how he had tried to repress the thought, to bury it so deeply that it wouldn’t grow – a fruitless attempt. Years later, he started wondering what would happen if he kissed Percy on the lips.

Fortunately for everyone, his crush on Percy was intense, but not eternal. There was no hiding from himself, though; what he was and his absolute disinterest for girls were now much clearer to him. It was so obvious he often wondered how he could ever think he was straight.

And now, there was Will Solace. Blue-eyed blond, friendly, straight-A student, future doctor Will Solace. Who happened to be staring at Nico with a frown.

“Why have you been staring at me?” Will repeated the question that had Nico’s whole being in a shocked turmoil, more slowly this time. “Have I done something wrong? Do you hate me or something?”

Nico gulped.

At least Will didn’t seem really mad at him for staring. In fact, his tone was almost concerned, as if he genuinely believed Nico loathed him and wanted to do whatever was possible to fix the situation.

Nico wasn’t sure which path was worse, though: to lie, or to say ‘ _Nah, I just figured out that I’m really gay and honestly you’re very pretty, haha. Wanna date?’._

“I just– I–” Nico started, pausing to lick his lips (read: gain more time). He kept his eyes fixed on Will’s (he’d read that one of the mistakes a liar could make was to look away). “I like your hair.”

Which wasn’t even a lie, and it _clearly wasn’t_ what Will had been expecting to hear.

“I mean, in an aesthetically pleasing, completely platonic way, you know?” He added, making a grimace at his own words. He stared down at his feet before remembering that looking away was a mistake, so he brought his gaze back up to Will.

Will’s eyes were wide, and very, very blue. The tips of his ears were beginning to redden. People passed by them in the hall, loud and oblivious. Nico wanted to be one of them. He just wanted to go home and try to forget this moment by having a Friends marathon.

“Wait. Do you… have a… hm, _crush_ on me, maybe?” Will’s voice was very small, and Nico had to look away again, feeling his own face burn. He thanked whatever divine entity had given him brown, blushless skin. This entire moment was already mortifying enough without him looking like a goddamn tomato.

To lie or not to lie – that is the question.

“I’m…” Nico started and Will waited, getting redder by the minute. Nico had the sudden desire to move to Antarctica and live with penguins for the rest of his life, where he would be unable to embarrass himself again by trying to interact normally with other human beings.

He lied.

“I’m not crushing on you, man.” Nico said slowly, frowning as if that possibility had never crossed his mind. “I just think your hair is pretty.”

He considered saying, ’ _I’m secure enough about my sexuality that I can say stuff like that_ ’, but that would be pushing it too far.

“Oh.” Will lifted one hand to tug at his hair, messy after a morning of classes. Nico kept his gaze at Will’s eyes. “Okay. Thanks, I guess. Hm, sorry.” Will said, then turned and walked away before Nico could say anything.

Nico sighed in relief. He didn’t like to lie, but it wasn’t as if he could just answer ‘ _yes, I have a crush on you_ ’. Not even his friends were aware Nico was gay. As much as Nico wanted to tell them, he wasn’t sure how they would react. Would they leave? Would they be uncomfortable? Act weirdly around him?

But now it was done, and Nico would just have to get a grip and stop ogling the pretty boy every single time they were in the same room. Stop the daydreamings – they wouldn’t get married, or proclaim undying declarations of love to each other, or celebrate Valentine’s Day together, or have a dog named Alfred, the Dog. He would just have to get over it, like he got over Percy.

In all honestly, he should be happy about convincing Will there was no crush _._ This could have been a disaster; Will could have been disgusted, terrified. It would have been hell.

And yet, as Will walked away from him and out of sight, Nico felt strangely empty.


	25. Intersection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "'What are you in for?' He asked without looking at Will, who smiled again.
> 
> 'Oh, they just want to know if it’s cool if I miss my classes tomorrow to run sound and lights for a presentation in the auditorium. What are you in for?'
> 
> Nico sighed.
> 
> 'I stabbed someone with a screwdriver.' He said, emotionless."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is based on a story/text post on tumblr which I can't find, sadly!

Will looked up from his phone when someone sat beside him. He, of course, recognized the boy — Nico, whom he had Biology and English with. As always, he slumped on the chair as if he couldn’t care less about his spine’s health and examined his nails — painted black — with disinterest. Up this close, Will could see (read: appreciate) his eyebrow piercing and his long eyelashes.

Will wasn’t pleased, but also not exactly surprised either at the fact that Nico was waiting to see the vice-principal too. It had to be the third time in two months — which, in Will’s book, was a lot.

Nico seemed to feel that he was being observed, and he gave the other boy a scrutinizing look. Will grinned and waved hello.

After a moment, Nico shrugged and looked away.

“What are you in for?” He asked without looking at Will, who smiled again.

“Oh, they just want to know if it’s cool if I miss my classes tomorrow to run sound and lights for a presentation in the auditorium. What are you in for?”

Nico sighed.

“I stabbed someone with a screwdriver.” He said, emotionless.

At first, Will thought he had heard incorrectly.

Then, he wasn’t sure what to ask first.

“We… lead very different lives.” Will mumbled instead. Nico glanced at him and nodded once, smiling as if there was a joke there that Will couldn’t see.

“Indeed.”

“Is the person okay?” He asked, then immediately regretted it. Maybe it had been self-defense against a jerk? …Maybe Nico _was_ the jerk…? He silently wondered what fate would await him if he discreetly leaned away from any possible dangers now.

Nico laughed.

“Sure. It was my friend Jason. Don’t tell him that, but I would never intentionally kill him.”

Will considered this.

“Good to know.” He said, getting into the play and making his voice over-enthusiastic. Nico laughed again, more quietly this time, and the sight of such an innocent (?) glee on the other boy’s face contrasted with his black clothes and jewelry. Will liked it.

“The guy can be a pain in the ass sometimes. That’s all.” He explained.

“Ah, I see. My friends are like that too, now and then.”

Nico gave him an amused look.

“Yeah? And what do you do about it? I imagine _Will Solace_ ” (Will couldn’t decide if the way Nico said his name was more like a reverence or like a playful tease. Most likely both, and he felt himself growing warm.) “Wouldn’t stab his friends to death with a screwdriver.”

“I mostly blush and run away.”

“Just as I thought. Lovely.” Nico kept his eyes fixed on Will’s, a hint of a smirk on his lips, and Will knew for sure that _now_ his cheeks were pink. Was Nico _flirting_? With _him_? _Him_ , straight-A, teacher’s pet student? Was _that_ Nico’s type?

 _Get a grip, Solace, of course he’s not flirting with you_. He thought to himself, trying to keep his breathing steady.

But what the hell was he supposed to reply to that anyway? He was pretty sure ‘ _you’re lovely too_ ’ would only get _him_ stabbed with the stupid screwdriver.

“Thanks.” He said, his voice small and stupid, and Nico nodded, finally looking away. He wasn’t smiling anymore.

The silence that followed was the most awkward four minutes in Will’s entire life, and he found himself cursing the vice-principal and whichever kid had gotten into trouble this time. Was a long talk necessary? Will was certain that a simple ‘don’t do it again’ would more than suffice.

Nico didn’t seem all that calm either, bouncing his knees side-to-side like that.

Fortunately, the door to the vice-principal’s office opened and Percy Jackson came out, rolling his eyes and mimicking (read: mocking) Mr. D’s manners as soon as the man wasn’t looking. Again, Will wasn’t exactly surprised, even though he would bet half his money on the fact that Percy was innocent, whatever the problem had been.

“Wilbur Solstice.” Mr. D called.

“It’s Will Solace, sir.”

“Same difference.” He murmured and went back to his office, leaving the door open behind him.

Will sighed and got up from his chair. Before he could enter the office, though, a hand grabbed his arm, holding him back. He turned, surprised to see that Nico had stood up and was closer than he’d thought.

But it was nothing compared to the shock he felt at Nico’s next words.

-

Jason had started another one of those conversations about _true love_ and _crushes_ or whatever it was that he liked to talk about nowadays. Ever since he began dating Piper, he thought it was his duty to help everyone find their soulmate too. Nico usually succeeded at ignoring him.

Except today he had been quite specific.

“I’ve seen the way you look at him, Nico. It’s like… like you wouldn’t murder him with your eyes if he attempted to have a conversation with you.”

Nico gave his best friend a very annoyed look, and pondered if he should say something self-deprecating or not. Jason would probably smack him, so he decided to stay silent for once.

“All I’m saying is, you’re pretty, you’re smart, you’re funny, you know how to have a good time. You’re not as difficult as you think you are. Even if you… _do_ wander in different circles and may have, you know, different interests, I think it might work. You never know ‘til you try it, right? So if you’re interested in Will, go for it!”

Nico gave him another look, but refrained from confirming or denying anything.

He wasn’t going to lie. Will looked soft and pretty in a very obvious way with those infinite freckles, tender-looking lips, and interested-in-everything look. And yet Nico had seen him being firm and resilient — eying the exams as if he was winning a battle against his mortal enemy, having discussions with _Annabeth_ (and ending up _earning her respect_ ), standing up to the eventual asshole. A fighter. Who blushed sometimes and was almost always smiling at something. Yes, please.

Didn’t mean Jason was allowed to see him losing his composure over a boy. Say whatever he may, the two of them weren’t at that level of friendship yet. He doubted there _was_ a level of friendship that allowed anyone to see Nico like that.

So he had rolled his eyes and gotten the first dangerous-looking object he could see inside his locker — the screwdriver that he had stolen from Leo earlier, because he had been annoying again — and stabbed Jason with some force, but not _too_ much force.

Because his entire life was probably a bad sitcom for the gods, that was the exact moment when a teacher passed nearby, seeing Nico di Angelo harming Jason “The American Golden Boy/Captain America” Grace (look at his last name; what sort of bad joke _was_ this?).

So here he was, waiting to see the vice-principal. Considering that he’d apparently tried to kill someone, he was surprised he hadn’t been immediately expelled. Probably because Jason came in his defense, but still.

And when he entered the waiting room and saw Will sitting there, playing Monument Valley on his phone, he decided that the entire day was probably a well-elaborated prank on him.

Except he was pretty sure Will didn’t have a clue about Nico’s, well, _interest_ in him. The only ones who knew about that were Jason, Piper, and Reyna, so…

So he was free to enjoy this, right?

For the first time in as long as he could remember, he started a conversation with a stranger.

It seemed to be going well for a while (which was why he decided to forgive himself for forgetting to say “hi” in the first place; stupid, stupid, stupid). Still, Nico wasn’t sure if Will was responding positively because he was happy to talk to him, or because he was afraid. And before he could help it, he said something he shouldn’t have. Something that was true, but that didn’t leave any doubt about its meaning. Something Nico didn’t know how to fix, so he didn’t.

The silence afterward was torture.

Except—

Except Will had blushed and looked perplexed. Was that—Was that a really bad sign? Or did it mean something good? God, why, just _why_ had he attempted to flirt if he didn’t know what to expect? He wanted to scream and hit his head against a wall. He probably would later. So much for ‘ _if you’re interested in Will, go for it_ ’. Worked out great. Thanks, Jason.

He felt Will looking at him now and then — more specifically at his bouncing legs. What about that? Was _that_ a good sign?

Maybe Will was waiting for him to make another move? Maybe _he_ was trying to come up with a move to make? God, wouldn’t that be wonderful?

He should say something. Be clear about his intentions. The worst that could happen was a ‘no, get lost’, right?

Yeah, but… a ‘no, get lost’ could hurt a lot.

And it would make everything awkward. Well, he could always act as if he couldn’t give a shit. He could always transfer to a school in another state if things got really ugly.

But they _wouldn’t_. Gee, maybe Jason was right and he _was_ a bit dramatic. Just maybe.

Will didn’t seem particularly repelled by him either, which was always a bonus. There was always the possibility that he was straight. And/or be seeing someone already. But maybe if Nico phrased it just right, he could pretend that he wanted to take him on a platonic date, that he wanted to be friends.

(Friends seemed more complicated, for some reason. Relationships might not work and that was expected, but losing friendships was the essence of Nico’s nightmares.)

He vaguely took notice of Percy leaving Mr. D’s office and Will being called, and it registered in his brain as a “speak now or forever hold your peace!” type of situation. It had to be now or he wouldn’t be able to do it again, he just _knew_ it.

Wait, what if Will was homophobic?

No, no, Reyna’s girlfriend was his friend. They had Art together. Yeah, that was it.

He was going for it.

He was _going for it_.

He was going to die.

He stood up, grabbed Will’s arm, and blurted the words out before he lost his courage.

“Look, I wasn’t going to do this, because I’m pretty sure you’ll reject me, but I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime.”

( _Shit, that wasn’t what he’d meant to say! Shit, shit, fuck—)_

There was silence, and Nico was painfully aware of Will’s warm skin burning his hand, of the room being too small and the air too thin, of his stomach turning with dread and anticipation as Will gave him a bewildered look. But Nico _was_ right in thinking he’d lose his courage if he didn’t do it now. He would never, _ever_ attempt to ask someone out _again_. He decided to kill Jason later for making it sound so simple.

For now, he just waited.

“With you?” Will said after a moment.

The words by themselves would have made Nico wince and run away — _you, the too skinny, too confusing, too complicated, too emotional, too emotionless, too careless, too anxious, too aimless, too scary, too scared_ —, if Will hadn’t said them with awe. With surprise. With delight. With happiness.

 _You, Nico di Angelo_. And it sounded like something good. His heart was beating strong and loud, and his breathing was heavier than usual, relieved, and Nico was almost sure, then, that he would fall in love with this boy.

He nodded, unconsciously mirroring the smile Will was giving him.

“I’d love that. I’ll find you and give you my phone number later, okay?”

“Sounds perfect.” Nico said, all the happiness he was feeling seeping through his voice and making itself known.

And it truly, truly did.


	26. Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will is kidnapped. Nico doesn't react well to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been a million years since I read the PJO books, so this is probably very not accurate. I don’t remember what Nico’s title of Ghost King actually means; this is self-indulgent and written just for fun.

Will kept smiling, his expression cool and at ease, even though he could hear the loud _thump-thump_ of his heart, could feel the adrenaline in his blood vessels, could feel the fear making his body cold but ready to run at the same time.

In front of him, one of the three monsters snorted through its nose, and Will held his breath so he wouldn’t inhale the fetid air.

They were human-like, except for their extra pair of arms, the fact that they were all at least 7 feet tall, and the light green tone of their skin, reminding Will a little bit of reptiles.

Truth be told, he still wasn’t sure why they had resorted to kidnapping instead of, you know, instant, quick death. Perhaps they needed medical help? But how would they even know Will was a healer? Maybe they thought all children of Apollo (which was what they’d been calling him) could heal. And technically, they _could_ , but that was not the point.

“Do you find anything funny, beside your imminent death?” The monster asked, its voice grave but sounding like a woman’s.

“Not my imminent death, but yours.” He corrected. “I have a friend who will be pretty pissed at you for kidnapping me.”

His mind was going a thousand miles an hour, trying to think of the best words to say in order to gain more time. He didn’t think they planned on killing him, or they would have done it already. But instead they had brought him to a cold, dark, damp cave, illuminated only by the torch Monster #3 was holding -- he was the shortest one, and was scowling as if holding a torch was equivalent to an eternity in the Fields of Punishment.

But it was still very dark. Lately Will didn’t feel as scared and powerless in the darkness as he used to be. There obviously was a reason for that, and he kind of hoped the reason would come to his rescue soon.

“Yes, we are aware of Lord Apollo’s pitiful state. _Mortal_.” Monster #2, the same one who’d been talking to him, snickered, as if Apollo had been turned into a cockroach, instead of a human.

“I was referring to someone else. My boyfriend, actually.” As a good son of the god of poetry and music, he paused for dramatic effect. “The Ghost King.”

The monsters, Will noted with satisfaction, seemed to straighten in alarm at the mention of that name, but other than that, there was silence.

And then the three of them laughed.

They laughed so hard Will felt a little offended. He crossed his arms and leaned against the cold rock wall behind him before remembering that wasn’t a good idea. Gods knew what kind of beings existed in this darkness.

“The Ghost Ki--The Ghost King--” Monster #2 tried to repeat, only to burst out laughing again.

Will huffed in annoyance. He’ll have you know his boyfriend -- that word was music to his ears, had he mentioned? -- was a freaking badass, thank you very much. He couldn’t wait ‘til Nico appeared and showed them there was absolutely no reason for them to laugh.

Monster #3 was the one who recovered first, although it was still smiling as it gave Will a look that was both impressed and disgusted, somehow.

“They get more and more creative with the centuries. Now, little son of Apollo, we’ll have you know that your story _was_ smart, but we’re not stupid. _The Ghost King_ is a fearsome creature from the darkness.” His voice reverberated with respect, shook with fear. “He does not engage in romantic endeavours, especially _not_ with feeble creatures like _you_.”

It was Will’s turn to laugh, despite his best judgement. But honestly, he always found this title thing a little silly -- although right now he couldn’t be more grateful for Nico’s reputation amongst monsters. To hear them talking about Nico like that... _Nico_ , the complete nerd who was going through a possibly eternal emo phase. Nico, who used his _fearsome dark_ _powers_ to conjure femur bones so he could roast marshmallows.

Not to mention, their attempt to belittle him was pathetic. Nico would probably not find the “insult” one bit funny when he told him later, but Will’s stomach hurt from laughing.

“Okay. Whatever you say." He said, still smiling as he wiped the tears off his face. “Just know that you’ll regret it.”

“He’s right.” A lovely familiar voice said behind the monsters, and they turned so fast that Will actually missed the movement.

From the gap between Monsters #1 and #2, Will could see him. There was Nico, looking furious, and Will’s bubbling joy died a little at the sight of that expression. It was the same face he’d had when looking at Octavian, all those months ago. Nico wasn’t even looking at him.

No, he was walking up to Monster #2 with certain, confident steps. Will almost pitied them as the monsters stepped backwards until they found the wall perpendicular to the one behind Will, squealing pathetically, and then there was no escape.

If his heart wasn’t beating loudly with _fear_ \-- of what, he couldn’t tell --, he might have laughed at the sight. A 5'5′’ teenager in black skinny jeans and a punk rock band T-shit, holding his sword but not even in battle position yet, and three _huge_ monsters getting away and pleading for their lives as if Nico was their worst nightmare.

“Please, please, my lord, we didn’t know--” Monster #2 begged.

“Yes, you did.” Nico’s voice was cold and unforgiving, and no one dared to say anything else.

Nico lifted his sword until its tip was at the monster’s neck, almost touching it. There was a loud sound echoing through the cave, and part of Will’s mind recognized it as their -- including his -- ragged breathing. Only his boyfriend seemed to be composed. Calm, even.

“Face me in a fair fight.” Nico commanded. “Get your weapons.”

Someone squealed.

Monster #1 launched for an attack with a war cry, and Nico barely glanced at it before slaying it with his sword. Monster #3 was silent, trying to seize Nico’s “distraction” to attack him with his torch. Nico flickered his weapon twice, and it was over, the torch falling on the floor.

Monster #2 fell on its knees.

“I surrender, lord. I--I surrender--” It sobbed, and Nico tilted his head, considering it.

Then he stepped back, still alert to any sudden movement from the enemy, and turned to Will, finding his eyes for the first time since appearing in the stupid cave. His gaze seemed to turn from cold to blank, and Will knew it was all pretense, he knew that Nico just wanted to protect them. The fear bubbling up inside Will didn’t fade, but a voice reassured in his mind, _It’s not Nico you’re afraid of_ , and he breathed out, relieved. He hadn’t even been aware that he was worrying about that.

“What do you think, Will? Your decision.” Nico said, still cold and regal, and Will loved him so, so much.

His mind was a mess of incoherent, loud thoughts and his head was spinning a little, but he focused on the question, on its meaning, and gave Monster #2 -- still a sobbing mess -- a look.

“I say we let it go.” God, he hated his voice just then. It was raspy, uncertain, and it cracked, making it was absolutely ridiculous, compared to Nico’s.

He felt his ears reddening in the split second it took Nico to nod and turn back to the creature. Will realized he had been expecting a sign that he had made the wrong choice. He wasn’t a fighter -- not like that, at least. Of course he didn’t know what Nico wanted him to say, but it seemed his boyfriend had no expectations for a certain answer whatsoever, which made Will feel warm with relief. He hadn’t screwed up.

“Did you hear him? I’ll let you go. I believe I don’t have to tell you not to cross my path ever again.” His voice was casual, and a shiver went down Will’s spine. The creature had stopped sobbing, but was still trembling and looking down, not daring to meet Nico’s eyes. “And tell whoever you’re working for that they’re in the losing side. Don’t you ever, _ever_ mess with my boyfriend again, or I swear on River Stix I won’t be as forgiving. Do you understand?”

The creature nodded quickly.

“Very well. You are free to go.”

The words were barely out of Nico’s mouth before the monster ran out the cave entrance, and the creature was barely out before Nico was in front of him, cupping Will’s face in his hands and saying something, his expression apologetically and regretful.

Will dully noted his boyfriend’s hands were hot on his skin, which had never happened before. It was then that he realized his entire body was shaking. He felt the air around him getting warmer, but only because it had gotten colder before and he hadn’t even noticed.

“...I let that happen. I promise I won’t let that happen again, okay? I swear. Are you okay? Will? You’re cold... Can you even listen to me?” Nico was saying, and this time Will understood the words.

“S-Shock.” He stammered, and it took Nico a moment to understand. When he did, he promptly hugged Will, trying to set as much skin contact between them as possible.

“It’s okay. You’re okay now. I’m sorry you went through that. You’ll be okay.” He murmured softly, and Will felt himself smiling at Nico’s gentle tone. He had never spoken like this before.

Nico was shivering too.

Will drew in a sharp breath, and his mind realized several things at once.

First, he was no longer afraid. As soon as the monster was out of the room, the fear had vanished, as if it had never been there in the first place.

Secondly, they both needed sugar and somewhere less claustrophobic to be in.

Thirdly, Nico had been afraid of not finding him. Of losing him.

And lastly, Nico had shadowtraveled.

“Nico. Neeks, come here.” He said, adjusting their positions so it was his body covering Nico’s.

He closed his eyes and focused, murmuring a healing hymn to try to expel the darkness away and give Nico some of his strength back. He felt his own body getting warmer once again, and felt Nico breathing more easily, his pulse slowing down to something closer to its normal rhythm.

It took a minute or two, but he held onto Nico even after the healing hymn had been done.

Will had no idea how much time passed before Nico broke the silence.

“Are you feeling any better?” His voice was still warm, full of feeling, and Will’s shoulders fell as the leftover tension dissipated.

“Much better.”

“We should go back. Your dad is waiting for us. As... is everyone else...”

Will sighed through his nose, but held Nico closer, tighter, for just a second before letting him go. He offered his hand and, for once, Nico accepted it. Will didn’t know if that was for his sake, or for Nico’s. He would guess both.

“Let’s go.” He agreed.

-

After describing the rescue in detail and discussing how strange the entire procedure had been -- relatively intelligent monsters, kidnapping instead of killing, the intention of attracting Apollo, apparently, instead of murdering him.

Nico and Will didn’t contribute much to the discussion, leaving that to Apollo, Hazel and Frank.

When they went to bed, Nico volunteered to stay awake for the first watch.

“No!” Will, Hazel, and Frank said in unison. Even Apollo was frowning.

Nico opened his mouth to protest, scowling, but Hazel was quicker, stepping forward and putting her hands over her brother’s shoulders.

“Brother, I know you’re worried about him, but you need to rest, or you won’t be able to fight.” For a split second, Will didn’t know who Hazel was referring to, until Nico glanced at him.

“I’m worried about everyone.”

“I know.”

There was a pause.

“I can’t let that happen again, Hazel.”

“We won’t.” Her voice was kind, gentle, and not firm as Will had expected. For the first time, he wondered how exactly Nico had reacted to the news that he had simply disappeared. A kind of cold dread settled in his chest.

It took Nico a minute, but he agreed with a sigh.

“You, to the sleeping bag.” Nico told Will, pointing at him and his bag for emphasis. Will thought about protesting, but he _was_ tired, and they all needed some rest. The day had been far too long.

So Will settled inside his sleeping bag, murmured a good night to the others, and closed his eyes.

Not long after that, someone joined him.

He opened his eyes to find Nico between his legs, resting his back over Will’s chest. His head was tucked in the crook of Will’s neck.

“Good night, everyone.” He said, acting as if he was in his own sleeping bag, as if everything was normal.

There was a hushed discussion somewhere beside Will, probably Hazel and Frank, but he didn’t pay it any mind. He lifted his torso a bit, enough to see Nico’s asleep face. He was obviously pretending, because Will could feel how fast his heart was beating, signaling he was too agitated to sleep.

Will sighed, hugging his boyfriend closer to him and starting a soft caress on his hair. He noticed, with a burst of affection, that Nico relaxed significantly at the gesture,

“We’ll have to talk about this, Death Boy.” He said so only Nico could hear.

There was a moment of silence, in which Will wondered if Nico keep on pretending.

“I’m sleeping.” Nico murmured in the same volume Will had used. “But yeah, I know.”

“This can be really bad for us, emotionally.”

“I know.”

“’Cause, you know that there’ll be times when we _won’t_ be able to stay together--”

“Can you not.” Nico’s voice was a little harder now. “Do you think I don’t know that?”

“If you know it might be bad for us, why aren’t you sleeping in your own bag, darlin’?”

“...I’m not... ready... to let go of you just yet.” Nico whispered.

Was it strange that Will was grateful? That he wasn’t as affected by the kidnapping as he thought he should be? Considering everything, it had been a soft, easy-level experience. He was a _demigod_. He was bound to die in a painful way. Was it bad that he didn’t see the day as bad? Nico had saved him -- and, mind him, the only options he could see at the time were death, or being rescued by Nico. They were intact (physically), despite needing each other more than usual.

It was probably just sad, and maybe still result of the shock. Maybe the full impact of the day’s events would hit him tomorrow, or in a week, or a month. But there was nothing Will could do about things like that. He could just prepare himself and hope for the best. That was the demigod’s life.

“You know what?” He pulled Nico closer. “Me neither.”


	27. name a game to play, and I’ll roll the dice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will offers to teach Nico how to kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on [this prompt](http://solangelo.tumblr.com/post/150141708383/cendriillon-archive-shippy-au-where-one).  
> Title in taken from Ariana Grande's 'Into You'.

Lou Ellen had her Hard Thinking face on -- hand rubbing her chin, eyebrows scrunched, lips frowning. Cecil, on the other hand, was looking up at the sky, as if asking for divine help. Will just waited for the verdict.

“I’d say it’s a 50/50 chance it will work.” She said finally. “There is a chance he’ll realize how bad you are and confront you, but then you confess your feelings and see what happens.” Lou Ellen shrugged as if Will’s entire life didn’t depend on the end result of this plan.

“You’re an idiot.” Cecil said. He didn’t elaborate, yet Will kind of agreed with him anyway.

But the thing is, he _couldn’t_ just outright ask Nico out. Nico has been his best friend since 9th grade, and he couldn’t afford losing him. He just-- That wasn’t even a possibility. Nope. Things would be awkward if Nico said “no”, or if it didn’t work out, and they would leave for college and probably drift apart and _nope_.

And he’d tried getting over Nico, _believe him_ , but that hadn’t worked out either. Everytime Nico laughed or smiled at something he said he felt complete and capable of everything, and everytime Nico had a bad day he just wanted to take him home, make a blanket fort, and watch animated movies with him until they fell asleep. Now and then they did that, and it was perfect.

“So I’m really doing this.” Will mumbled, dread filling his stomach as he rethought the plan. It _was_ stupid. And it would probably amount to nothing. But it did have potential.

Lou Ellen nodded at him once, beaming.

“Our baby is growing up so fast.” She said, elbowing Cecil, who just sighed.

“I’ll buy chocolate in case it fails.” He said drily, not even attempting to hide how certain he was this plan was _already_ a failure. Will ignored him.

He was really doing this.

-

Will didn’t actually do anything for about a month. Lou Ellen pressured him (”if I have to see you making heart eyes at him with that kicked puppy face one more time, I might actually vomit”), and even Cecil sent him a Just Do It gif once, telling him to just rip the band-aid off (”I’m gonna eat all this fucking chocolate I bought, I s2g”).

The opportunity came up when they were at Nico’s place, working on a lab report.

“'Dopamine is the chemical that mediates pleasure in the brain.’” Will read the laptop screen, then looked up to the bed, where Nico was frowning at his own notes. “Hey, did you know that the brain releases dopamine during kissing? That’s why it’s so addictive and stuff.”

Nico gave him a blank look, taking a few seconds to process the information.

“Oh.” He mumbled. “Wouldn’t know.” He said, then looked back to his notebook.

Will raised his eyebrows, suddenly remembering The Plan. Would this-- would this be a bad time? Maybe. But Nico had said _that_. This was the opportunity Will had been waiting for -- as well as courage that never seemed to come around, but still.

 _Just-- do it!_ Shia Labeouf’s voice yelled in his mind, and he rolled his eyes at himself. Shit. It was now or never. He could practically hear Cecil/common sense/cowardness screaming at him to choose “never”, but he took a deep breath and opened his mouth anyway, ignoring the mess that was his brain at the moment.

“I could help you with that.” Will said, sounding much, much more confident than he felt.

Nico looked up at him again.

“Nah, it’s fine. It’s just that I can’t understand what the fuck I even wrote here. I doubt you’d be able to understand this if _I_ don’t. No offense.”

What the-- _Nico!_ Why, _why_ did he have to make things hard like this? Why had Will fallen for a complete and utter nerd?

“I meant with kissing.” He forced himself to say, surprised that the mess of emotions inside him was not perceptible through his voice alone. “Dumbass.” He added, trying to lighten the mood.

Will was also surprised at the amount of disbelief that one face could express.

“The fuck.”

Nico was always so eloquent. Will loved him.

“It’s just that-- You haven’t kissed anyone, and I have.” He lied. “Not many people, so I’m not very good, but I could show you, if you want, so you know what it feels like.”

Nico eyed the room, frowning as if trying to understand the punchline of a joke.

“Thanks... But I’ll pass.” He said slowly, looking at Will as if he’d lost his mind. Then he went back to his notes, bringing the notebook up, closer to his face than necessary -- hiding it.

It was solely because of that that Will took in another deep breath and sat up on the bed beside his friend, leaving plenty of space between them. Nico didn’t move.

“Just think about it, Neeks. It's a totally platonic thing, like... skating, or something. Just so you won’t be nervous when you find someone you like.” He forced himself to keep his expression neutral. “I’m your best friend. I promise I won’t judge you.”

At first, Nico didn’t answer. Then he adjusted the notebook in his hands so it would cover his face even more and mumbled, “Completely platonic? Nothing will change?”

Will’s heart _raced_.

“Sure, of course.” _Nothing will change if you don’t want it too_. He thought. _But hopefully it will_.

They stayed in silence for several seconds, and then Nico slowly lowered the notebook and revealed his face. He wasn’t visibly blushing -- ah, the benefits of brown skin --, but he _was_ hesitant, and it showed.

“It’s okay, Neeks. We can stop whenever you want and pretend it never happened, if that makes you more comfortable.”

The words cut his heart, but they were true. God, maybe he _should_ have actually kissed some people, practiced a little... But he just wasn’t the type of person who could easily propose something like that to just anyone. Nah, he kind of had to be in love.

He realized they were actually going to do this, and he knew his ears were probably red by now. But maybe like this he would know if they had any chance of being more. With a lot of luck, whatever divine entity was out there would bless him and he would be able to woo Nico, and then they would get married as soon as he finished medical school and have three kids.

He didn’t want want to focus on what would happen to him in case they _did_ continue to be just friends.

Well, he supposed he would have the best memories imaginable, and he would probably never move on. But then again, they would still be friends, and it might hurt, but he could take it. _Would_ take it.

“Okay.” Nico said, his voice small and soft, and Will breathed out, his heart still wild. “But I’m warning you right now, I’m probably really bad. I’ll probably... need more than one class, you know.”

He was staring intently at one point in the wall, so he couldn’t see how Will smiled at that.

“Always glad to help.”

Nico nodded, then took in deep breath and turned to his friend, clearly scared. His eyebrows rose up a little when he saw how clearly happy Will was.

“Right. So, it’ll probably feel a bit weird at first, but let’s just try to get used to it and then focus on making it feel really good.” He repeated the words Lou Ellen had come up with for him. As Nico nodded, he made a mental note of thanking her later.

He was going to kiss his best friend.

Will cupped Nico’s face gently, moving slowly in case Nico wanted to change his mind. But Nico didn’t, so Will tried to imprint every impression, every emotion, on his mind until the moment when their lips touched.

A shiver went down his spine, and he suddenly couldn’t think. Nico’s hands found his, and then they timidly held onto Will’s waist as they parted their lips and-- _wow_.

Nico’s tasted like toothpaste, and they both made small noises when their tongues touched. They tilted their heads, deepening the kiss, and the world could be ending right now and Will probably wouldn’t notice.

No, all he could feel, all he could _think_ of, was _Nico_.

Soon, but not soon enough, he had Nico under him on the bed, and then they lied side-by-side, never separating for too long. Will lost track of time, lost control of his thoughts, which was why he murmured an “I love you” in the brief second Nico’s mouth wasn’t on his. He only noticed this, though, because Nico froze and leaned away moments later, and Will chased him without thinking, opening his eyes when he didn’t find those wonderful lips again.

“You what?” Nico asked, voice raspy and low and urgent.

“What?”

“You said you love me.” He whispered, and it was Will’s turn to freeze. “Is it true?”

Will wouldn’t be able to lie even if he wanted to, but the fact that Nico was so close, eyes wide and without judgement or disgust, certainly helped. So he nodded--

And watched as the most beautiful smile he had ever seen on anyone appeared on Nico’s face, his eyes crinkling and shining, so happy that Will couldn’t even breathe for a moment.

Will was pretty sure that there had never been any sweeter words in all of human history than “I love you too”, which was what Nico told him, still beaming.

They didn’t return to kissing. They just looked at each other like idiots (in love).

And then Nico’s expression turned to mild panic and he rushed to sit up, pulling Will with him a second before there was a quick knock on the door and it opened--

“Hey, ki--” Hades stopped, taking in the sight before him.

Will found it ironic and depressing that the best day of his life was also probably his last, but he didn’t say anything.

“Hey, dad.” Nico’s voice was cheerful -- and louder than usual.

“What are you doing?” His father asked slowly, frowning a little.

“We’re... studying.”

Hades nodded, eying the room -- the notebook and all of their other material on the floor, some clearly thrown there. Then he studied Nico and Will themselves; the mussed hair, the swollen lips, the flushed faces.

“I see.” He said, his voice neutral. “What subject? Human anatomy?”

Will was surprised he didn’t have a heart attack right then.

“Math.” He said, thinking that was the subject that had least to do with humans and bodies, at the same time Nico mumbled, “Dopamine”.

God, Will could practically _hear_ the smile on his voice.

“Right, of course.” He sighed. “Just... use protection?” He said, showing the first signs of embarrassment. He immediately left then, leaving the door wide open behind him.

Will wasn’t sure how he would ever be able to look at Hades in the eyes ever again, but Nico just laughed as if he was having the time of his life.

“So let’s do that again.” He said, sounding so happy that Will couldn’t even feel completely embarrassed. He just looked at his best friend with what Lou Ellen called ‘heart eyes’.

“You know, I had never actually kissed anyone.” Will confessed, his smile growing as Nico raised his eyebrows.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I was just hoping to be miraculously good enough to woo you.”

Will was certain that Nico’s laugh could be heard in the entire -- huge -- house.

“I can’t believe you. Well, I’ll have you know it actually worked. You fucking nerd.” He said, then pulled Will in for another kiss.


	28. it’s only nature

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr user brandiggitty once said "well that escalated quickly" in regards to this fic and I think that's the best description I can give you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **ATTENTION!!** : this chapter also contains Mature content 'cause smut!!  
> Title is from Ariana Grande's 'Dangerous Woman'.

Hugging in the bed is different, mostly because it makes the two of them have the same height, and so it’s easier for them to cuddle. No cramps in the neck from crouching down and no balance lost from tiptoeing. What a dream.

Currently, Will is sitting up, back against the headboard, and Nico is straddling his lap, his legs crossed behind Will’s hips. His head rests on Will’s shoulder.

Will still hasn’t figured out what made Nico crave hugs, but he sure isn’t complaining. He takes a certain delight in seeing Nico relaxed like this, completely comfortable with the caresses he is doing – up and down his back, soft circular motions on his scalp.

And then Nico turns his head and bites his necks, more playfully than anything, but Will gasps anyway. By now Nico _knows_ Will’s neck is a very, _very_ sensitive area, and that he shouldn’t do stuff like like that unless he wanted to make–

Will bites his lips to avoid moaning when Nico bites again and sucks, licking the spot afterwards. He decides to make a trail of open-mouthed kisses toward his boyfriend’s earlobe, and Will shivers.

“Nico.” He whispers, all coherent thought leaving his mind. He just holds Nico closer and hopes this won’t end anytime soon.

Nico doesn’t disappoint him.

He licks the hellix of his ear, sucks the earlobe, kisses his jaw, his lips, his cheeks, his eyelids, knowing full well that Will has a thing for affectionate acts. Will is calling his name over and over, lost in sensation.

He barely notices when Nico takes his shirt off and immediately kisses his collarbone, then licks one nipple while teasing the other, making circular motions. Will throws his head back and sighs, feeling Nico making his way down his torso.

Soon enough, he has to buck his hips up and Nico takes both his pants and his boxer shorts off, then resumes the kissing. Will particularly loves when Nico kisses and licks the area just below his navel.

He gasps again when Nico’s fingertips start massaging up and down his inner thighs, more teasing than actual touching, and he opens his legs a bit further. But thank the _heavens_ , Nico isn’t feeling much like teasing. In a few seconds, he strokes his cock to full hardness, and Will realizes he intends to blow him – otherwise he would have gotten the lube – a second before his mouth is sucking the tip, the tongue swirling on the sensitive skin, and Will cries out.

Nico rejects patterns – he licks the shaft up and down, fondles his balls; then takes as much as he can in his mouth and sucks, hollowing in his cheeks and massaging Will’s perineum; he slowly takes more and more until he is deep-throating, and Will is holding onto the headboard behind him, whimpering and moaning.

Occasionally Will will lose control and buck his hips up a little, but Nico doesn’t mind. He actually seems almost pleased with this reaction, tilting his head up to give his boyfriend a mischievous, knowing look, smiling around his cock.

“Fuck, Nico, _please_ – Please, don’t stop.” Will begs, his voice weak and rusky, but Nico gives his cock one last suck before pulling away.

He gets out of the bed and pulls Will up by the hand, toward the wall. He positions them so Will’s back is leaning against it, and then he strokes his cock again while leaning closer, kissing his boyfriend’s shoulder once.

“I want it rough. Please?” Nico whispers in his ear, then drops to his knees and opens his mouth in front of Will’s cock in invitation.

Nico is the type of person who likes it as straightforward as possible, which doesn’t really come as a surprise. Will, on the other hand, likes to be careful, to be tender, but he doesn’t complain right now. He cups Nico’s face and moves so that his cock fills his boyfriend’s mouth slowly, both of them appreciating the feeling.

Will notes what Nico’s limit is and increases the speed, making a rhythm with that in mind. Nico hums once, and the vibration makes Will shiver and go faster, unable to keep his moans quiet.

He doesn’t take his eyes off of Nico’s once, and the sight is stuck in his brain as one of the most beautiful things he’s ever seen. Nico, on his knees, his eyes half-lidded and his mouth opened around his cock. His lips red and sullen and his hands holding onto the back of Will’s thighs to keep himself grounded.

“Nico, I’m close.” He warns mere seconds before he comes, moaning so loudly the neighbours can probably hear him. Nico doesn’t choke, and he manages to swallow most of it down – some of it dribbles down his chin, and he wipes it off with the back of his own hand.

Then he stands up and pulls Will in for a hug until his breathing is less heavy, his heartbeat at a normal pace again.

“Enjoyed that?” Nico murmurs in his ear, sounding extremely pleased with himself.

Will kisses the point below his ear, slowly, in response.

“I love you.”

Nico snorts.

“You’re just saying that because I got you off, big boy.” He whispers, and Will pulls away to make sure he’s joking. Nico, on the other hand, laughs at his worried expression and kisses him. “You dork. _I love you too_.” He says pointedly, then kisses him again and again and again.

“My turn to make you feel good?” Will asks between kisses, sounding content with the perspective.

“It will be my pleasure.”

“Nico. Can you please _not_ pun right at this moment?”

Nico merely shrugs, pulling Will by the hand toward the bed.

“You know you love it.”

Will doesn’t refute.


	29. Small Wonders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Nico are making out, and then someone IMs them.

Nico bit his bottom lip softly just for a moment, right before he went back to laughing quietly. Will, of course, was fixated on his every move, beaming along with his boyfriend. He could feel Nico caressing the curls right above his neck, and the fact that Nico still had his arms draped onto his shoulders, as well as Will’s hands on the other boy’s waist, kept the two of them close.

It was Will’s favorite time of the day. Dusk was approaching fast; the sky was mostly violet, but the last rays of sun still peeked at the room through opened curtains, and they gave everything a burned yellow tone. It was unusual to see so much color inside the Hades cabin, but it was a nice touch. Nico’s half-lidded eyes were brown – _warm_ – under this light.

“Again?” Will whispered, touching their foreheads together. His mind immediately wondered if that was okay; perhaps Nico needed some space? They _had_ a safe word for when one of them needed some alone-time or some silence, and he hadn’t used it, but still…

“Again.” Nico whispered back, nodding a little. He was the one to lean in this time, his lips finding Will’s with eagerness.

This kiss was at a faster pace than their first one, but lasted longer. They were both inexperienced, so this was very chaste, more one peck after the other than one long kiss. Their lips were too dry to be entirely pleasant, but because this was Nico, Will still craved more, still tilted his head so as to find a better angle, still hummed in contentment as Nico sighed, happy.

Just like their first kiss, it ended too quickly, in Will’s humble opinion, but it was worth it when he realized the cause of interruption was Nico bursting out laughing again. He could never be truly disappointed or sad whenever his boyfriend was like this – like he had so much happiness in him he could not even contain it.

Thus, Will smiled again – without even noticing – and kissed Nico’s temple before pulling him in for a hug and resting his head on top of the other boy’s. Nico had to adjust, taking his arms off of Will’s shoulder and hugging his torso instead, but soon he sighed and buried his face there.

For a moment, Will sent a mental, general thanks to all the gods. All of them who had kept Nico alive and as safe as they could, all of them who had lead him back to camp. He had always wanted to be Nico’s friend; he couldn’t possibly have guessed how much he would need him too, how much they fit and complemented and helped and loved each other.

He hadn’t known it was possible to love this much and feel just as loved too.

And then he opened his eyes, and had to blink several times as he adjusted to the unnatural brightness that seemed to float on the room, in front of the lateral side of the bed, where he and Nico were sitting.

Hazel and his dad – still in human form – gazed at him, eyebrows raised. Apollo seemed extremely emotional about something, and it took Will a fairly long time to understand what exactly was going on.

“Hm, Neeks? Don’t look now, and definitely don’t freak out, but, um–”

“Hey there, brother. Will.” Hazel greeted, sheepish and happy. Will felt Nico freezing in his embrace, then holding him tighter for a moment before he let go and looked up.

“Hazel.” He whispered, eyes widening at the sight of his sister.

“So, Iris-messaging is working again.” She announced. Then added, “As we all can see.”

“How much _did_ you see?” Something in Nico’s tone had Will frowning and studying his expression in search of an explanation.

 _Nico is scared_ , Will realized a moment before he heard Hazel laughing a little.

“Brother, don’t worry about that. Your happiness and well-being are the most important thing to me.” She said. “I am not uncomfortable at all, I promise, but _you_ have _no_ business worrying about that. Understand?”

Nico took some time to process the words, his shoulders relaxing visibly as he did. He nodded then, a hint of a smile on his lips.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Nico.”

“I love you guys.” Apollo added, his hands above the place where his thoracic cavity was.

“…Thanks. I guess.” Nico answered, eyebrows slightly furrowed despite his smile. He turned to Hazel again. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too. I was thinking of visiting soon, actually.” She glanced at Will momentarily, her eyes sparkling, and he had the very funny feeling that she had already decided to come here, communication problems be damned. Most likely on Nico’s birthday, which was very soon.

“That would be nice.” Nico said, honest.

They talked a bit more. Both Reyna and Frank were fine, Apollo had succeeded at another one of his trials – thus Iris-messaging was working again –, and there were no news regarding prophecies or oracles. All was as well as it could be.

“Reyna sends her love.” Hazel said when they were almost finished talking.

“So do I.”

A few words of goodbye, and then Nico passed his hand over the Iris-message, ending the call.

“Can I hug you?” Will immediately said, without thinking. He heard Nico laughing quietly, but he complied to Will’s wish.

“Are you feeling okay? Happy?”

“Yes, and yes.” Nico replied, and silence followed.

It was dark by now, and it made Will partly want to stand up and turn on the lights, partly want to lie down and cuddle until he fell asleep. He, of course, did none of those, because Nico tilted his head so he could whisper in his ear, “Again?”.

In response, Will kissed Nico’s cheek and whispered back, “Again.”


	30. Nico Is One With The Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will's cat likes Nico better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a request from someone on tumblr!

The door of Will’s room burst open – Nico clearly had been trying to startle him. The asshole. Will didn’t look up from his textbook, though, and considered it a personal victory.

“What’s up?” Nico greeted, closing the door behind him and throwing himself on Will’s bed.

“Biology shouldn’t be this hard.” Will huffed.

“I’d help, but… I’d probably just make you get an F.” Will didn’t have to look to know that Nico was shrugging, and he understood why. Nico’s dyslexia was _way_ worse than Will’s, and they both knew Will was better in Biology anyway, no matter how hard the subject.

From the corner of his eye, Will could see Barry – his cat – getting up from his bed and walking toward the bed.

“Hey, Will?” Nico called, and Will turned to give him a questioning look. Barry got up on the bed and immediately snuggled himself in Nico’s waiting arms. “How do you feel knowing that your own cat loves me more?”

“He doesn’t, shut _up_. You’re _impossible_.”

“You love it. And I’m just stating the facts.” Nico said, gesturing to the cat currently lying on his chest.

A comfortable almost-silence followed. Will could hear Barry’s happy purrs as Nico caressed his back, and then the sound of his paws on the wooden floor. Nico’s laughter. By the sounds of it, he was using the tug toy again.

Barry was a ginger-furred Persian cat. He was about 9-years-old, and therefore no longer as agile as he used to be, but Nico always managed to get some exercise into him.

Will noted he had been staring at the same paragraph for who knows how long now, so he took a deep breath and tried to focus again. He got about five minutes of studying before Nico called him again.

“Hey, Will.” His voice was at a higher pitch than usual, like he was talking to a baby.

He turned, and saw that Barry was over Nico’s chest again, except that Nico was now holding him up a bit, For some goddamn reason, his boyfriend was pouting.

“Come cuddle with us.” He asked in the same sweet voice, bouncing Barry up and down, indicating that he was speaking through Nico. Will rolled his eyes and pretended to think about the request.

“Please?” Nico added, blinking. The image of joyful innocence.

Soon enough, Barry was purring happily on Nico’s chest, Will beside him, and both boys caressing him. That was the only sound in the room for minutes.

“You know, if you wanted to cuddle so much, you could’ve just asked me.” Will pointed out, and Nico snorted.

“I was translating Barry’s wishes. I’m very good at interpreting cats.”

“Sure you are.” Will had meant for it to sound properly sarcastic, but it came out too fondly to fool anyone. In the end, it was worth it, because Nico glanced up and gave him one of _those_ happy looks – smiling and completely focused on Will. God, he was beautiful. It was impossible to resist him, really.

So Will leaned in and kissed him.

He always lost track of time whenever he kissed Nico, like nothing else in the world mattered. In a certain way, Will thought, it _didn’t_ matter. Nico’s lips on his, his hands on the nape of Will’s neck, caressing his hair, and the small sounds he made now and then, utterly content – _that_ mattered. The rest could wait.

Or so Will liked to believe.

Barry started meowing _loudly_ , eager to show how displeased he was now that the snuggles and caresses stopped. Both boys had to stare at him for a minute before they realized what he wanted.

“Sorry, buddy.” Will told him, petting his head. Barry just gave him an unimpressed look.

“Don’t worry.” Nico told the cat, back to that high-pitched voice. “Even if we broke up,” He gestured to Will and himself. “I’d always come to snuggle with you.”

“Except we _won’t_ break up, so there’s nothing to worry about at all.”

Nico kissed his cheek.

“Dork.” He said, and Will stuck his tongue out at him. “You know you’re just proving my point, right?”

Will ignored him.

“Come here.” He put an arm below Nico’s shoulder blades and pulled him closer, caressing Barry’s back with his free hand.

He forgot about Biology, about college applications, about the future, about the fact he would probably have to leave Barry behind soon, whenever he went to medical school.

Because nothing else in the world mattered, but this.

And Will couldn’t be happier about it.


	31. I know you wanna go to heaven (but you’re human tonight)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The problem, when it came down to it, was that Nico didn’t know why he felt the way he did."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for this one: depression!  
> Title from Halsey's 'Young God'.

The problem, when it came down to it, was that Nico didn’t know why he felt the way he did.

If only someone would tell him, “oh, hey, this nothingness in you? It was caused by this and this and this and it can be cured by that and that and that”, or, “that bad feeling will go away in about three weeks”. But no. Instead, the hopelessness was too heavy on his shoulders, making him curl up into a ball and try not to do anything stupid. He had a million thoughts, whispered by cruel, unforgiving voices in his mind. He didn’t know if those ideas were his — not that it would surprise him if they were, but he had kind of hoped he had healed himself; that he had moved on.

Apparently not.

Someone knocked on the door, but Nico couldn’t muster up enough strength to look up from where his face was buried between his knees. The most he could do was sigh rather pathetically.

“Neeks? Is it okay if I come in?” In the long time it took for him to ponder whether it was okay or not, Will knocked again. “Please tell me you’ve overslept.” He said in a lower voice, but Nico heard it just fine.

And then the door was opened. Nico heard Will’s small gasp, followed by his hurried, heavy footsteps. There was the sound of a paper bag being left somewhere. And finally, of Will sitting by his side.

“Hey, Neeks? Is it physical?” Nico recognized the doctor voice (polite concern instead of unconcealed despair), and he kind of liked that Will hadn’t asked if he was okay. He wanted to look up, but everything was still too much and he was too tired.

Was it physical?

In a way.

But by now he knew that was not what Will meant.

He forced his mouth to open, forced his lips to form the words. “The cause isn’t.” Yet the effects seemed to be. A small part of Nico admired the control of the mind over the body. The rest of him just cursed it.

“Okay. Have you felt like this since the morning, then?”

Nico nodded, partly wondering what time it was. There was a single strip of sunlight entering his cabin, so maybe noon?

There was silence for a moment.

“Do you think there’s anything I can do to make it better? More tolerable?”

There had been a time, in the beginning of their friendship, when communication had been hard. They both seemed to have too many preconceived ideas regarding the other, so that the treatment they gave each other was a result of that. Sadly, their ideas couldn’t be more wrong. For them to reach a basic level of understanding and pleasant friendship it took weeks, plenty of cold shoulders, lengthy conversation that Nico learned to hate (he was too straightforward for that kind of shit) and introspective quests to find better ways to communicate. They basically had to restart everything, now making trust and comfort the base of their friendship.

Nico had no doubts it’d been worth it.

“I don’t think so.” He said, finally being able to lift his head, only to immediately rest it against the cold wall behind him. Will mimicked the gesture.

“Would you prefer that I left?”

Nico had to think about it.

“I don’t think it’ll really make a difference.” He said at last, and closed his eyes, tired, when he noticed that that may have sounded rude. Will didn’t seem to mind, though.

“So I’ll stay, if that’s alright with you.”

“Mhmm.”

The silence wasn’t a pleasant one — not for Nico. When the mean ideas in his head started sounding true again, he spoke up.

“I’m not okay.”

“I can see that.” Will’s voice was no longer on doctor mode. It was, in fact, soft and loving, to the point where Nico thought a pet name at the end of the sentence would be fitting.

“When will this end?” Nico noticed, with equal parts delight and worry, that for the first time his voice didn’t sound dead — but that the only feeling it expressed was bitterness.

He didn’t particularly liked being bitter about things. Believe him, he’d had plenty to feel like that about, but it was as exhausting as it was freeing, in a way.

Will took so long to answer that Nico wasn’t even sure that he would.

“I don’t know, darlin’.” He sounded sad, but Nico didn’t open his eyes. That answer wasn’t news — it felt like he knew it all along, since the first moment that unspeakable hopelessness seemed to break his spirit, to crack him from inside out.

(He hated living. If life was like this, what was the point?)

Will cleared his throat.

“Neeks?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I— hug you?” His voice was slightly tremulous, and he cleared his throat again.

“…Sure. Yeah.” He mumbled, weak, hoping Will didn’t detect the uncertainty in his tone.

Will didn’t.

He got closer very slowly, setting his perpetually warm hands on Nico’s shoulders before pulling him into his embrace, where it was cozy and perfect. For a moment, Nico could relax, and the silence in his cabin was a small blessing. Will smelled faintly of antiseptic and of greenery on summer days, and Nico was right at home.

For about half a minute.

Soon it all became too much. His skin started crawling, goosebumps raising on his arms. He trembled a little, trying to force himself to accept this, to go back to feeling alright with the close contact, to understand that this was someone that he _loved_ and _trusted_ and that it should be _okay_.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I can’t.” He said, too fast and too sudden, and Will let him go immediately, concealing well whatever hurt he must have felt at Nico scrambling to get away from him.

“I’m— I’m sorry, Nico. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have— I mean, I know how you feel about this, so—”

“You were trying to help. Kind of did, actually.” For a moment.

“Still, it was self—”

“Knock it off, Solace. If I wasn’t okay with it, I would have said so. That’s why you ask. Now stop looking like you caused the apocalypse. There’s enough sadness going on as it is.”

He actually managed to get a smile out of Will with that, which was always a small victory.

“O-Okay.”

The feeling of his skin still crawling added to the bad thoughts increased the need to fill the silence with something. _Anything_. Even Will’s shitty pop music would do.

“The worst part,” He began, back to curling himself into a ball and rocking himself back and forth without noticing. “Is that I want to be able to touch you. But I— I _can’t_. Not like that, at least.”

The confession seemed uncomfortably out-of-place due to the silence that followed – until Will broke it.

“Not like that? What’s ’ _that_ ’?” Will said.

“It was… too much at once, I think.” Nico shrugged a little.

Will locked his gaze on Nico’s, his eyes speaking of danger and vibrancy.

“Neeks, I have an idea. Do you trust me?”

Nico nodded without having to think.

“Good.” Will’s lips curved up into a slightly asymmetric smile that made Nico want to kiss his jaw. “Please tell me if and when you need to stop.”

Then he carefully took Nico’s hand and helped him stand up, dragging him to the bed afterwards. Will ordered that Nico lied down and got comfortable before he lied down beside him and joined their pinkies, as if they were about to pinky swear.

It was the only part of their bodies that were touching.

It wasn’t overwhelming. It was more like a beacon of warmth; a point in which Nico could focus all his attention on.

(He still craved _more_ , though. Deeper than that, he craved the ability of not needing to run away from the loving touches that he longed for.)

But _this_. This was good.

And as a bonus, Will looked so happy that it seemed to be working that those old skeleton butterflies in Nico’s stomach resurrected.

“Feeling any better?” Will whispered, blue eyes big and hopeful.

Nico sighed, closing his eyes.

“Yes. Thank you.”

Nico woke up hours later with his heavy blanket over him (the skulls in it glowing in the dark of the room) and his pinky still attached around Will’s, who was snoring softly beside him (above the covers). No light entered the room in the gap between his curtains, and there was no excessive noise outside, which meant it was nighttime. His mind was silent and he was calmer. He still dreaded waking up tomorrow. Still wasn’t sure what to do with himself.

And yet he was warm and feeling cherished for, and strangely hopeful regarding a few things. It was as if he’d had a gulp of fresh air, even though he was in danger of drowning again.

(But for now, he could breathe.)

Later on, he would blame what he did next on sleepiness, and what he did was lean in and kiss Will’s cheek lingeringly.

“Thanks, Will.” He whispered. Will snored in response.

So the worst seemed to have passed, and the fact that Nico was feeling a bit better — more rested; a little hungry, even — gave him some hope. Maybe he could live, if it meant the weight on his shoulders wouldn’t constantly bring him down. Maybe he could eventually accept that this was his life, if it had breaks that made his heartbeat flutter with some happiness. A giant maybe, yes, but the first positive thought of the day.

In the darkness of his room, Nico smiled, and it felt like a promise he’d be happy to keep.


	32. Just Another Tuesday on Camp Half-Blood (or, Nico’s Sugar-Induced-Extravaganza)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico finds out brigadeiro is the best. Will is Worried.

Will knew something was wrong the moment he saw Nico _bouncing_ to meet him in the infirmary, where he’d been taking care of boring paperwork with only his siblings making him company.

Nico didn’t bounce. He certainly did _not_ jump around the camp with a content smile plastered on his face, as he was doing now.

He most definitely did not run and hug Will without a reason, much less this publicly.

Will was frightened.

“Hi!” Nico shouted happily. “I ate brigadeiro!”

Will dimly noted that Paolo entered the infirmary and was running toward them, frowning. He also noticed how fast Nico’s heart was beating, but that could be from the running sprint. Still…

“Is that a drug?”

“No, it’s a dessert!” Nico explained, then got out the hug so he could look at Will. His eyes were huge, pupils slightly dilated, and he had a firm grip on Will’s shoulders. “Will, it’s wonderful! And it’s so easy to make! We could eat that everyday!”

“Hm. I doubt that, honey.”

Nico frowned as Paolo reached them.

“I don’t like honey. Or corn.” He mumbled, but by now Will was looking at Paolo, silently demanding an explanation.

“Will, hey. Listen, I think your boyfriend might have had _way_ too much sugar? He ate, like, half a can of condensed milk, and ate almost all the brigadeiro.”

“The dessert.” Will said, dubious that a food could turn Nico into _this_.

“Yeah, man. It’s harmless, I swear. I just wanted to introduce a little bit of Brazilian culture to camp.”

Nico’s eyes widened and he gasped, shaking Will by the shoulders.

“Will! If we move to Brazil we can eat that everyday!”

“We can’t speak Portuguese, Nico.” Will reminded him, very patient.

“We don’t need Portuguese to eat.” Nico complained, and Will chose not to reply. He just breathed in very deeply, weighing his options.

“...Okay. Okay. I’m gonna put some water in your organism, and then--”

“No!” Nico whined, and it shut Will up. Nico didn’t _whine_. Or... pout like this. What was even _happening_? “I’m so full, I can’t drink anything right now.”

A second later, Nico straightened his back, his eyes wide and bright at whatever idea he’d just had.

“Will!” Nico whispered, then kissed him, his eyes only half-closed. He tasted like milk chocolate.

Will could hear his siblings yelling “woohoo!” and wolf-whistling in the background; undoubtedly, Nico could hear them too, but his boyfriend didn’t seem to mind for once.

This was it. Nico had to be stopped; Will pushed his boyfriend away.

“Hm, lo-- Neeks.” He cleared his throat, rummaging his mind for any good ideas. “Uh, let’s... Let’s go to the Hades cabin, yeah? I’ve been meaning to, uh--”

Nico giggled.

“ _Will_.” He drawled out. “I _know_ what you’ve been meaning to do.”

Well.

(Shit.)

Nico hadn’t said it in a quiet voice either, no. He had said it loud enough that Austin and Kayla stopped whatever they were doing and an uncomfortable silence followed.

Shit shit shit.

Rationally speaking, Will knew no one _actually_ thought they were going to do anything other than a kiss on the lips, at most. The entire camp was aware they were probably the chastest couple in history (they were _fifteen_ , for Apollo’s sake!), and that Nico would murder anyone who dared spread false rumors.

But, well, Nico wasn’t exactly himself right now, was he?

And if any rumor reached either Jason or Reyna (or _Hazel_ ), Will could start saying farewell to life and deciding what would be engraved on his tombstone.

“Hm--” Will was torn between trying to explain that that was _not_ what Nico meant or throwing his boyfriend over his shoulder and running away from camp forever.

The second option sounded more and more tempting by the minute.

And then Nico threw his hands in the air and yelled:

“Mythomagic!”

Okay, Will had to take him out of here before any more of his nerdiness was revealed or _Nico_ would kill him later. He gave a pointed glare toward Kayla and Austin, who promptly tried to pretend their laughter were coughing fits instead.

Only Nico was fooled.

“Are you okay?” He asked them, frowning. “Maybe you should go see a doctor.”

“They’re fine, Neeks.” Will mumbled, scowling at them one last time before turning back to his boyfriend. “Let’s go.”

“Hey, ho. Let’s go!” Nico started singing, and Will gently dragged him by the arm toward the door. Paolo, who’d been fidgeting, moved out of their way and shot them an apologetic look, but Will would only be able to forgive him after Nico was fine, so he didn’t bother responding.

-

In one hour, Nico did more than he usually did in a day.

He decided he wanted to climb the lava wall (”I’m gonna fight it, Will. I’m gonna win.”), so he did just that and did a victory dance afterward. Will had never want to record something so badly in his life, but the moment he saw Sherman lifting a camera, he ran and literally kicked the bastard’s ass, confiscating the object.

Sherman, in a rare wise moment, decided not to argue against the person who patched him up almost daily.

Nico kissed him a lot, as well. It felt as good as it was worrying, because Nico usually wasn’t prone public displays of affection. His eyes started watering when Will pushed him away, though, and it was as if all his energy had been sucked away all of sudden, so Will proposed kisses on the cheek for now and it appeased them both.

Nico also had the sudden desire to listen to music out loud, so they went to the thankfully empty Apollo cabin and put Ramones on the speakers. Nico danced (or simply bounced) until he fell face first on the bed, right beside where Will was sitting, promptly giggling and mumbling it was a comfortable place.

He was asleep within a minute, and Will finally allowed himself to sigh and chuckle a little. He knew Nico was adorable, but today had simply been too much.

In a few minutes, he had Nico under a blanket and was caressing his silky hair. The doctor side of him told him to get up and get some water for when his boyfriend woke up. The rest of him ignored that.

Now, Will would never say this out loud (mostly because it would always sound creepy, no matter what words he used), but he loved _feeling_ Nico sleep (...see? Creepy.), in the sense that he could feel his heart beating and the way all his muscles relaxed.

Nico was peaceful, whole, alive, and getting well-deserved rest when he was sleeping. What was there not to love?

Will only wished it was nighttime already so he could sleep until morning. If he took a long nap in the afternoon, he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep later and would risk staying up all night.

So after an hour and a half of wishing he could take a nap even with the sun up, Will gently poked him awake.

“Neeks? Neeks, it’s time to wake up, man.”

Nico hummed.

“Hey, sweetheart. You awake yet?”

“Don’t call me sweetheart.” Nico mumbled without opening his eyes.

Ah, he was awake alright, and back to being annoyed at and inconvenienced by most things. Will smiled.

“You know, I was thinking. Okay, we can’t move to Brazil, maybe we can have our honeymoon there. What do you think?” Will said, seemingly nonchalant, and watched, delighted, as Nico’s face shifted into poorly concealed confusion and panic (mostly panic), then realization.

Will could see the faintest hint of a blush in his boyfriend’s face before he hid it in the mattress and groaned out loud, the sound pained. He knew Will would never let go of his sugar-induced-extravaganza. Good.

Will just laughed.

Needless to say, Nico’s sugar rush was the perfect advertisement for the Brazilian dessert, which ended up being a success in both Camps, even though Will never let anyone (especially his boyfriend) eat too much of it again.

It was for the best.


	33. break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When would this end? _When_ , _when_? He just wanted a date so he could mark it in a calendar and wait for time to do this job. Why was he… _this_? Why was his brain sick? He didn’t think it was very fair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for this one: depression!

His name was Nico di Angelo. He was 19 years old. He was a student at New York University. His dad was called Hades and he had two sisters. He had friends who cared about him (Reyna and Jason, for example). He had a boyfriend. He had depression and took medication. He liked… he wanted…

Next question.

He didn’t like loud noises or college. He didn’t like the concerning early joy of morning people (with one outstanding exception). He didn’t like himself–

Oh. No, no. Bad direction. Let’s change the course.

He–

(When would this end? _When_ , _when_? He just wanted a date so he could mark it in a calendar and wait for time to do this job. Why was he… _this_? Why was his brain sick? He didn’t think it was very fair.

Well, many things _weren’t_ fair. So, in the end, it made some sort of absurd sense that he had the shitty mental illness, he guessed.

Maybe he had done something bad in another life. Killed someone. Mistreated someone who needed him. And this life was his redeeming path.

Which was great, because when his mental illness acted up he could hardly do anything, let alone something bad. Ha!

The next life better give him a yacht and an endless vacation.)

“Babe? …Neeks? Neeks.” His boyfriend had been poking his arm. “You there? What are you doing?”

Wallowing in self-pity and the pain of being here when he didn’t want to be and imagining how easier things would be if he was dead.

Nico puffed his cheeks out, closed his eyes, and didn’t answer.

“Ah.” Will mumbled. Nico silently agreed.

The worst part about it when he was like _this_ was that nothing was the better option. Being alone was dangerous and sometimes it wasn’t what he wanted, while he _never_ wanted other people to be forced to put up with this shit too.

“You took all your medication today?”

Nico nodded.

“Okay. Have you eaten anything?”

Nico shook his head, briefly wanting to make a face. He really didn’t want to eat anything right now. Open his mouth, chew, swallow. Taste nothing. Be more tired later.

Will didn’t ask whether there was anything he’d liked to eat.

In fact, his boyfriend didn’t say anything for a while.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” He asked at last.

 _Was_ there?

Nico couldn’t think of anything, so he shook his head.

“Okay.” Will said.

Then there was a sound of something being thrown on the floor, near the couch Nico was lying on. A zipper being opened, and the spiral of a notebook being dragged along it as it was taken out of the bag. Pens scattering on the floor. Will mumbling something under his breath.

Nico focused on the sounds, even as Will tried to be as quiet as possible.

He – thankfully – must have fallen asleep not so long after that. When he woke up, the room was much darker, no sunlight to create long shadows he could follow with his eyes. The – lack of – color in the walls dimmed to a quiet gray that he thought he liked, for some reason.

Will was still there, and Nico could barely see the dark wood of the floor around him, seeing as it was covered with opened thick books, papers, the laptop Will always had with him, currently showing a skeleton and the names of its bones.

Nico vaguely hoped Will wouldn’t have to memorize all those names. Poor boyfriend.

Said boyfriend was lying on the floor, one hand above his chest, holding a small piece of paper, and mouth slightly opened. His snoring wasn’t _too_ loud.

Nico kind of wanted to take a picture of that so he could look at it when he was in a shitty mood.

But he didn’t remember where his phone was (it probably had no battery anyway), and didn’t feel like looking for it.

Thank goodness his boyfriend’s phone was right there near the couch.

He extended his arm and got it, then managed to record a small video of his boyfriend nearly drooling over his papers, snoring in high definition sound.

Future good mood: guaranteed.

But he wasn’t cruel and heartless, so after a couple of minutes of convincing himself to do it, he stood up, involving himself in the blanket he’d brought, and walked to the man on the floor.

He poked him until he woke up with a start.

“What? Neeks? Everything alright? What– Oh.” He mumbled when he saw the mess of the floor.

“Let’s go to bed.” Nico mumbled. He vaguely noticed the taste in his mouth was bad and that he didn’t smell great either.

“But I have to learn Latin.”

Will, what?

“Nap.” Nico insisted, and Will looked conflicted for about two seconds before his shoulders slumped and he nodded, rubbing his face.

“Alright.”

His boyfriend stood up. The piece of paper he’d been holding fell, and it took a moment in which they both just stared at it before Will crouched down and got it.

“Oh! Right.” Will said with renewed excitement. “Neeks, look what I learned. See this paper in my hands–”

He made a gesture too fast for Nico to completely follow – his mind was still hazy – but the paper seemed to disappear from his hands for a moment, before Will pretended to take it from behind Nico’s ear.

Nico blinked at him.

“Ta-da! I’m a magician now!” Will beamed. “Now please open it?”

Nico didn’t really want to – he wanted to be _asleep_ ; things didn’t hurt when he was asleep. But this seemed to be important to Will, for whatever reason, so he took the paper.

And opened it.

‘ _You are awesome and worth it and I love you! =D – Your bff bf_ ’, it said.

Below the words, two hearts had been drawn holding hands – one painted with blue ink, the other seemingly blank, empty.

Truth be told, the words made the corner of his lips lift a little, but the smile on Will’s face was what made his entire being warmer, brighter.

“I thought BFF boyfriend was particularly clever.” Will informed him.

“You’re a genius.” Nico murmured. “Now come down here, please. You sappy Houdini.”

Will leaned down to kiss him – too fast, since the idiot felt the need to pull back and say, “This is my favorite nickname ever, by the way”.

Nico gave him a pointed look and stuck his tongue out at him.

“I’m _offended_. And there I thought you loved me. Hmpf!” Will acted upset for a second, crossing his arms and everything. Then he dropped his act and his smile became softer, more attentive. “Okay, enough of being dorks. Sleep?”

“Sleep.” Nico agreed, and they both walked silently toward his room, the only sound being that of the blanket being dragged through the floor. Will’s hand was warm in his, and Nico held the paper close to his chest.


	34. Close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Will stared at Nico’s back for a minute before turning too, wanting to get closer to his boyfriend, but not wanting to push any limits. Wanting something to focus on that wasn’t the war ahead, but not wanting Nico (or himself) to panic at the realization that they most likely wouldn’t be this close to each other for at least a few days."

“You’ll stay in the makeshift infirmary tomorrow?” Nico asked in a low voice.

“Actually I’ll be healing in the middle of the battle. Like the Olympian War all over again,” Will replied in the same volume. It was just Nico and him in the tent, but he didn’t want to risk waking up his friends, who were sleeping in tents beside theirs.

“That’s dangerous.” Nico noted with not a small amount of distress in his voice. His fingers grabbed Will’s shirt, which he’d just been tracing until then.

Will half-shrugged.

“I’ll heal, and you’ll fight.” He sighed, resigned. Then, he caressed Nico’s hair, a gesture that would be natural if it wasn’t for how much care he put into it, as if Nico was the most important thing he’d ever touched.

“I’d say my chances are pretty good. I mean,” Nico said, “I’ve survived every battle I’ve ever fought.” _Until now, yes_. “That’s gotta count for something, right?”

Will gave him a reprimanding look.

“ _Barely_ survived.” He murmured, but still his voice broke. This was an old argument; one they had no means of solving or ignoring until the day Nico didn’t have to fight anymore.

Will sighed again.

“But,” he continued, “I know you. And I trust you to be… prudent.” _I trust you to come back to me_.

Nico studied him for a moment. And then his gaze softened, changing from a cautious, calculating look to the loving eyes of someone who believed in beautiful things.

Will, like always, wasn’t expecting it when Nico leaned in and kissed him on the mouth. Quickly, just a peck.

Then another.

The third one was more difficult because Will kept smiling. The duration or frequency of their kisses hardly mattered to him. It was the Nico-ness of it all that always made Will’s heart flutter, content.

“I promise that,” Nico said, “if I have to, I’ll come running straight to you.”

Will held Nico’s gaze for a moment, then nodded. Will wouldn’t have believed him, once. Knowing and accepting that they couldn’t fight all battles was the hardest part of a demigod’s life. But Nico was a different boy from the one who kept falling onto him, too insubstantial to stand up on his own. This Nico valued his own life and wanted to stay, wanted to come home.

Will trusted him.

“I know,” he paused, pretending to ponder about something. “But— are you sure you’ll come running _straight_ to me? Is that even possible?”

It took Nico a few seconds to get it, but when he did, his face opened up in the most incredulous, most beautiful smile Will had ever seen (something he thought about most of Nico’s smiles, but that didn’t diminish the truth in each of those occasions).

Will unconsciously smiled back. Nico punched him lightly in the arm.

“Shut up.” He said, still grinning.

“C’mon, that was a good one!” He put on a pout, pretending to be upset, and Nico laughed, not cruelly.

“Will,” he said when he paused his laughing to breath, “none of your jokes are good.”

It didn’t matter to Will whether they were good or not. As long as the goal of making Nico smile was met, he would keep making them.

He fake-sobbed, which made Nico try not to laugh too loudly, the glimmer in his eyes visible only due to the faint moonlight that entered their tent.

“You— you don’t like my jokes? You’re so _mean_!” Will whined, and Nico bit his lower lip.

“Shut up,” Nico ordered with a small roll of his eyes. “Go to sleep. Tomorrow will be…” He narrowed his eyes, traces of humor mostly gone. He never finished the sentence.

“Shitty?” Will suggested, and Nico sighed, looking up at the tent ceiling.

“I was gonna go with ‘tiring’, but that works, too.”

“Mhm. Yeah.”

Nico yawned, covering his mouth with one hand while the other found Will’s. He gave it a squeeze before letting it go and turning his back to Will.

“Night, Will.”

“Good night.”

Will stared at Nico’s back for a minute before turning too, wanting to get closer to his boyfriend, but not wanting to push any limits. Wanting something to focus on that wasn’t the war ahead, but not wanting Nico (or himself) to panic at the realization that they most likely wouldn’t be this close to each other for at least a few days.

But then, minutes later, he heard and felt Nico turning and moving closer to him. A hand grabbed the fabric of his shirt, and Will pondered what to do for about two seconds before figuring Nico was as desperate as him for some contact, some tenderness.

So he turned and inched closer to the other boy, putting an arm around him and caressing his back. Nico sighed, responding to the touch by resting his head against Will’s chest, his fingers caressing Will’s ribs in irregular movements. Will gently kissed the top of his head.

It was only then that they could fall asleep.


	35. come home to my heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will is not taking care of himself. Nico confronts him about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit angsty. It was a request from the-italian-nerd1on tumblr!  
> Title taken from Lorde's 'Supercut'.

He hates fighting with Nico. He hates fighting _in general_ , but he _especially_ loathes doing it with his boyfriend.

“You’re not taking care of yourself,” Nico is saying, and Will is already shaking his head. This is part of what he detests about fighting with Nico; none of them are good listeners when they’re riled up. “No. _Will_ , I can recognize the patterns by now, okay? You’re sleeping, what, three, four hours a night? You think you’re gonna make it to graduation like that?”

“ _Yes_. I can handle it, stop bringing it up!”

“I’m gonna bring it up until you understand you can’t keep going the way you are!” And here he takes a deep breath, clearly trying to calm down. “Will, look. Drop one of your jobs—”

But Will is no longer listening.

“ _No_ —”

“At least let me pay for your college.”

“I’m not taking any of your money, Nico, Jesus—”

“But I showed you the riches of the Underworld!” Nico’s voice is getting louder. “You know I have far too much, and I wanna help you!”

“I don’t need help.” Will says through gritted teeth. “I’m doing just _fine_.”

Nico clenches his jaw.

“Alright,” Nico says, and his eyes are very cold. Will doesn’t have enough time to prepare himself against whatever attack is coming his way. “I tried to be reasonable with you. If you wanna be alone, _be alone_.”

And then Nico walks up to the light switch and flicks it off, and Will doesn’t move, can’t move. His words were a knife to his heart.

When he turned the lights back on, Nico was no longer in the room.

-

Will doesn’t know where Nico shadowtraveled to. Could be to one of their friends’ house, could be the other side of the country. Will wouldn’t put it past him. Will saw it in his eyes last night: Nico doesn’t want to talk to Will right now.

Which brings him to the next point: for how long doesn’t Nico want to talk to him?

After Nico disappeared, Will had simply dropped onto their couch and stood very still, now wanting to think of Nico’s words, of his own fury — with Nico, with himself. He just sat there and felt the anger leaving him, only to be replaced with regret that wasn’t any less despairing.

He understood Nico, he did. He’d once been in the other man’s shoes, when they were younger and Nico hadn’t learned how not to destroy himself yet.

They’d had extensive talks about mental health and coping mechanisms, which a lot of times descended into full-on fights as Nico refused to acknowledge that he needed help.

“My life isn’t any of your business!” Nico had yelled at him once. But thing is, it was, because they were together. Because they cared for each other.

And now—

Now he guesses his life is Nico’s business as well. Because being in a relationship means vulnerability, means commitment. Means helping the other when the other needs help. Means accepting help.

He sighs.

He hopes Nico will come home soon.

-

He goes to college, forces himself to write down some notes instead of just obsessively looking at his phone to check if Nico called him. He didn’t.

He is halfway through his shift when he realizes he’s forgotten to eat today. Nico is gonna be pissed at him. He _hopes_ Nico cares enough to be pissed, and then maybe he’ll rant about how much of an idiot Will is, and Will will smile and they’ll make and have dinner together.

He wants Nico to come back.

-

It’s his night shift, and Nico still hasn’t given any sign of life. Will tries not to panic, but it’s useless. The last time Nico disappeared like this, it was back when they were younger, when they had a fight and Nico didn’t talk to him for a week. He thought they were past this. That they knew better now. That they didn’t hurt each other like this anymore. He guesses he was wrong.

it hits him, terrible and suddenly, that maybe Nico had meant _be alone… permanently_. That Nico had had enough of his shit and that being with him wasn’t worth the effort. That Will finally did it and drove away the person he wants to spend the rest of his life with.

The thought is horrifying. He can’t breathe. His heart is beating all wrong, painful and too fast.

He needs Nico to come home.

-

He is drained by the time his shift ends. He’s looking at his phone as he leaves the building (Nico hasn’t called), not paying attention to his surroundings, so he doesn’t see Nico until he’s stepping in front of him, blocking his way.

He looks up, annoyed, and then time stops when he sees him.

“Neeks,” he breathes out. Without thinking about it, he moves to hug him, and for a second he is afraid Nico won’t hug him back.

But he does.

“Are you okay?” he asks, and feels Nico moving his head yes.

“Yeah. You?” Nico moves out of the hug to look at him, and Will reluctantly lets him.

“I’m— I’m _sorry_. I’m—”

Nico cups his face, already shaking his head and looking into Will’s eyes.

“Baby, _no_. _I’m_ sorry, I— I shouldn’t have left. I should have stayed and talked like an adult—”

Will hates interrupting him, but he needs Nico to _know_. “I shouldn’t have been so stubborn. I— I lied. I do need help.” He clears his throat. He says, his voice low: “Will you help me?”

Nico nods. Smiles a little, the most beautiful man Will has ever seen.

“Always. _Always_.”

“I just— I need you to know. I hate not being with you. I hate that I’m not being a good boyfriend, I hate that I’m not being what you need. But you should know that… you come first. _We_ come first. I know things are hard right now, but I want to make this work.”

“We _are_ gonna make this work. We’ve been through worse,” Nico says, and he caresses the back of Will’s head for a moment while taking him in; the shadows under his eyes, his slumped posture. The city lights only accentuate how pale Will is.

“Let’s go home,” Nico whispers, and Will can’t resist it. He leans in and kisses him once, twice, on the mouth. Nico responds with the same amount of urgency. It’s their way of saying _I missed you. I never want to leave you._ Their way of saying they’re gonna be alright.

“Let’s go home,” Will agrees, and they go, together.


End file.
